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Spanish consumers are still seeing confusing price shifts at the checkout, with carrots, potatoes and iceberg lettuce among the products that rose most sharply in price this June.

 

A new analysis by consumer group Facua looked at food prices in eight of Spain’s major supermarket chains and found that, while some staples have become cheaper, others are climbing noticeably, especially vegetables.

 

According to Facua, carrots, potatoes and iceberg lettuce all saw the steepest average price increases during June. In contrast, a kilo of rice is now 3.1% cheaper than in May.

 

Other items that fell in price include onions (-5%), oranges in 4-kilo bags (-4%), brown lentils (-2.2%), golden apples (-1.8%), and both sunflower and olive oils, with olive oil prices dropping by an average of 9.5%.

 

Whole milk and other essentials also dipped slightly, though not dramatically.

 

Facua also highlighted that lemons have seen the biggest jump in the last 12 months, rising by 30% on average, the largest annual increase for any single food item on their radar.

 

On January 1, 2025, Spain’s VAT rates on basic foodstuffs changed from 2% to a 4% rate. These included milk, bread, eggs, cheese, fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, tubers and olive oils. Meanwhile, VAT on pasta and seed oils rose from 7.5% to 10%.

 

Back in February 2024, Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs asked major supermarket chains to justify price increases introduced since early 2023, especially while VAT reductions were in place. The Ministry warned at the time that businesses were not permitted to use the tax cuts to increase profit margins.

 

However, Facua has now criticised the government for failing to take action. The association says it has flagged worrying signs of rising profit margins, particularly on olive oil, but the Ministry has still not launched any formal disciplinary investigations.

 

 

Image: Randy Fath/Unsplash