War in Ukraine: German consumers pay more attention to prices than to climate and environmental aspects when shopping
Created: 06/23/2022, 14:12
By: Stella Henrich
In view of rising food prices, the topic of sustainability when shopping is currently playing a subordinate role for consumers.
This is confirmed by a recent survey.
Munich – According to a survey commissioned by the German Institute for Food Technology (DIL) and the Lower Saxony state initiative for nutritional science, consumers are concerned about rising prices and the issue of food shortages.
As a result, consumers in this country are currently paying particular attention to special offers and cheap groceries when shopping.
Almost 1,500 people across Germany were interviewed for the survey from April 21 to 25, two months after the start of the Ukraine war.
“Almost 70 percent of those surveyed stated that they sometimes spend significantly more money on food than before the Ukraine war.
Around 24 percent stated that they invested the same amount of money in food as before the Ukraine war,” writes
Lebensmittelzeitung
, referring to the survey results.
Consumer behavior: price aspects replace environment and sustainability
When shopping, consumers now focus more on price aspects than on environmental and sustainability issues.
It was a little different during the Corona pandemic.
During this time, the topic of sustainability in particular was much more important for many people, the Lebensmittelzeitung continues.
Climate aspects, the environment and sustainability now seem to play less of a role in the minds of consumers when they reach for the supermarket shelves.
According to the survey, consumers are concerned that food could become scarce.
© Francis Joseph Dean/imago
According to the survey, almost 80 percent of those surveyed are concerned about possible food shortages: more than half of the participants surveyed believe that there will be restrictions on cooking oils (67 percent) and staple foods such as flour, sugar or pasta (58 percent) or bread and butter in the near future Baked goods (36 percent) for likely.
On the other hand, shortages of local fruit, alcohol or seasonal vegetables are considered unlikely.
Consumer prices for food have increased dramatically
And if you look at the current statistics, food prices increased drastically in May of this year.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, consumer prices rose by 7.9 percent in May compared to the same month last year.
Meat and edible oil in particular increased sharply.
edible fats and edible oils | + 38.7 percent |
meat and meat products | + 16.5 percent |
dairy products and eggs | + 13.1 percent |
bread and cereal products | + 10.8 percent |
Source: Federal Statistical Office
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The price increase, which is now more of a price shock for many consumers, could also be a reason why those surveyed are now paying particular attention to special offers and cheap groceries in supermarkets and discounters.
The survey also shows that a secure national supply of food is important to consumers, as is the regionality of food.
However, it is surprising that 42 percent of those surveyed do not see German agriculture as crisis-proof, says the co-author of the study, Adriano Profeta, in the
Lebensmittelzeitung
.
People have obviously become much more aware of their dependence on agricultural imports as a result of the Ukraine war.
Not only empty supermarket shelves are visible evidence of this.
Consumers with a penny to spare, or others who like to shop as bargain hunters, can save despite rising prices.
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