Food inflation will be further aggravated by the tax on plastics from 2023

• Inflation fully impacts healthy food and condemns the vulnerable to junk diet

Food

is today in Spain

year ago.

The rise in raw materials, the packaging itself and the energy (necessary to preserve them, transport them and make those that are not fresh) has made the products that make up the shopping basket considerably more expensive and it is expected that they will

when in force in the country the

very present in the supermarket.

Products such as butter, pasta, sauces, legumes, meat, yoghurt, some vegetables, cheese, coffee, olive oil, pizzas and prepared dishes, salt or rice reach homes from the supermarket

which is automatically discarded and to which no other use is given,

as long as it has not been recycled.

Specifically,

will be paid -in line with what is approved in other European countries such as Italy also for 2023, and somewhat higher than the British, of 0.2 pounds sterling per kilo-.

"

that inaugurates a category of taxes aimed at promoting the circular economy in the field of plastic", explains

, which recalls that "non-reusable containers that contain plastic, semi-finished plastic products destined for the obtaining the containers (preforms, thermoplastic sheets), and the plastic products that allow the containers to be closed, marketed or presented".

It is not entirely clear, however, which specific products will be subject to taxation and which will not, since the rule says that containers will be exempt "as long as they form an integral part of a product and are necessary to contain, support or preserve said product throughout its life", that is, provided that

as could be the case with

"This is an indeterminate concept whose

," warn

.

In this office they consider that the measure will decisively affect the food sector, although this will not be the only one subject to higher tax costs.

"Given the current dependence on plastic packaging, it

(...) It will affect all operators that manufacture, purchase or import non-reusable plastic packaging, semi-finished plastic products and closures" , point.

They also warn that although the tax

and aims to encourage the use of recycled plastic or other materials, "

since, although it is only planned the legal repercussion of the tax in the case of the first sale or delivery made after the manufacture of the product in Spanish territory, the reality is that

of the good produced".

This means that if

has already risen in price by 31.8%;

pasta is

% more expensive;

sauces have

26.5% more expensive;

eggs rise

%;

chicken

, 17.6%;

yogurts ,

%;

legumes ,

%;

,

14.6%;

salt, 11.1% and rice, 10.7%, according to the latest data from the INE at the end of August, it is possible to expect greater increases in the future, both due to the impact of the tax and the expected evolution of the cost of raw materials.

panel of analysts

expects the price of

on average for the year - with increases of 14.1% in September;

14.8% in October;

13.1% in November and 11% in December-, while an

is forecast for

(12.7% year-on-year in September and October, respectively; 12.8% in November and 12.3% in in December).

They admit that it will affect the consumer

In the last three months (June prices compared to current prices) in some areas it can be seen how

(+18.3% ), a plastic package of pasta spirals that used to cost 0.80 now costs 0.88 euros (+10%), or private label ketchup has gone from 0.79 to 0.82 euros (+3.8 %).

The increases also affect the entire part of

that also make up the shopping basket and are mainly packaged in plastic:

;

micellar water from 4.95 to 6.09 (+23%) and hand cream from 1.35 to 1.49 (+10.4%).

The Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (

) regrets that since January 2021

Specifically, those of paper and cardboard, 25%;

those of plastic, 22%, and those of glass, 18%, but they defend that not all cost increases are transferred to the consumer.

"There is no direct transfer of the increase in the cost of materials to the final price of food. In fact,

a percentage much higher than the increase in the CPI for food" , point to EL MUNDO from the employer's association.

The Spanish Federation of Food and Drink Industries (

) calculates that the

will have "a direct impact on companies in the sector of around

" and

"In order not to reduce the competitiveness of companies and harm employment, we have asked the Government, together with other organizations in the packaging value chain, to delay at least one year, until January 2024, the entry into force of the Tax".

"We are in a moment of great instability, with unaffordable energy costs and rising inflation, so it

In the case of the Tax on Plastic, in addition to strictly economic reasons, the implementation of a tax of these characteristics generates many practical doubts and companies need a sufficient margin of time to be able to resolve them", they point out to this medium.

These organizations, together with others from the entire food chain, such as the agrarian organizations ASAJA, COAG, UPA and Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias, as well as other business associations in the sector, consider that "this is not the time to apply

that will only have a

admit

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