Finance Ministry: Claims About Dramatic Rise in Food Prices Not True

Bratislava, 11 July (TASR) - Claims of dramatic or record increases in food prices in Slovakia, uttered in recent weeks by some politicians, are not based on truth, stated the Finance Ministry on social media on Friday, adding that the primary aim of such lies is to stir up negativity in Slovak society. "According to official Eurostat data, Slovak food price inflation excluding beverages is the lowest since 2021. Since the beginning of 2025 (January-May), average year-on-year food price inflation has reached 2.2 percent. This level is even lower than for the whole of 2024 (2.5 percent)," said the ministry, adding that the most-rapid growth in food prices was recorded in 2022 and 2023, when they rose by a record 40.2 percent. The ministry also stated that food prices in neighbouring Visegrad Four (V4) countries are rising faster than in Slovakia. In Poland, food inflation has been at 5.4 percent, while in the Czech Republic it's stood at 4.9 percent and in Hungary at 4.7 percent since the beginning of this year, the ministry stated. "The Finance Ministry is therefore noting that statements made by some politicians shouldn't be taken seriously, as they often talk about figures that are intentionally misinterpreted. They usually confuse food price inflation - which, in addition, isn't adjusted to exclude items such as alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages - with overall inflation. Similarly, for example, they work only with data from a single month, which they compare to the same month of the previous year," stressed the ministry. lin/df