Higher prices force Germans to cut back on food – report
One in ten people in the country cannot afford meat, poultry or fish every day, newly released EU statistics show
More Germans did not have enough money for meals comprising of meat, fish, poultry or a vegetarian equivalent every day in 2022, according to the latest data tracked by EU statistical office Eurostat.
The new figures, released by German corporate newsroom Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Monday, demonstrated a year-on-year increase of 0.9% to 11.4%, meaning that nearly 10 million people in the most populous EU nation often lacked proper meals. That shocking number rises to 19.3%, when it comes to single parents, marking a solid rise of 2.6% compared to the previous year.
The statistics were requested by the opposition Die Linke party. Commenting on the figures, the faction's leader in the Bundestag (parliament), Dietmar Bartsch, called for a temporary suspension of sales tax on essential food items and for the state to control supermarket pricing.
"The supermarket has become a rip-off stronghold," Bartsch said as cited by state media outlet Deutsche Welle. "The higher the price, the higher the quota of pasta with ketchup."
READ MORE: German consumers hit by runaway prices
He added that children were among the particularly vulnerable groups exposed to the problem, and demanded the introduction of a guaranteed basic child allowance.
Germany, along with a number of EU member states, has been struggling with soaring consumer prices, causing people to cut back on expenses. In June, inflation in the Eurozone’s leading economy hit 6.4% in annual terms.
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