Food shopping gets more expensive as some everyday favourites see big price rises

Fresh berries, citrus fruit, green vegetables and eggs have all seen sizeable price rises over the past year

If your weekly food shop has been feeling a little more expensive lately, some of the latest figures from Spain's inflation data show just how much prices have changed over the past year. 

Fresh berries have seen the biggest increase, with prices rising by 35.7% between August 2025 and August 2026. That category includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and redcurrants.

Fresh citrus fruit has also become considerably more expensive, rising by 17.1% over the same period. Green vegetables, including peas and green beans, went up by 15.9%, while eggs were 12.5% more expensive. Fresh fish, whether chilled or frozen, recorded a more modest increase of 7.8%.

The figures come from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) and form part of its detailed consumer price index data for August.

There were some other increases worth noting for shoppers. Edible offal rose by 6.6%, while dried, salted, smoked and preserved fish increased by 5.7%. Prepared seafood products were up by 5.5%.

It wasn't all bad news at the supermarket checkout, though. Coffee and coffee substitutes were 4.2% cheaper than a year earlier, while sugar prices fell by 3.1%. Cereals were down by 3%, with frozen vegetables and tubers falling by 2.8%.

Looking just at the first eight months of 2026, fresh berries have recorded an even bigger rise of 44.6%. Green vegetables were up 17.3%, while potatoes increased by 5.3%.

August itself brought some interesting changes. Green vegetable prices jumped by 19.1% compared with July, while fresh berries rose by 2.6%.

On the other hand, tropical fruit, including dates and figs, was 9.9% cheaper than the previous month. Fresh citrus fruit fell by 6.1% and other fresh fruit, including melons, watermelons, grapes and kiwis, dropped by 2.1%.

The way these figures are calculated also changed at the start of 2026. The INE introduced a new version of the consumer price index, updating the shopping basket and the weighting given to different products. New items such as avocados and blueberries were added, while products no longer commonly bought, including ties and handkerchiefs, were removed.

Spain's annual inflation rate reached 4.3% in August, with transport costs among the biggest contributors. Higher fuel prices are feeding into the cost of moving goods around the country, while other costs across the economy can also work their way into the prices shoppers see in shops and supermarkets.

But there isn't one single reason behind those food price increases. Production costs, fuel and transport, storage, seasonal availability and weather conditions can all affect the price of fresh food before it reaches the supermarket.

Read also: Inflation In Spain Hits Highest Level In Three Years As Fuel Prices Skyrocket

Image: Archive