We are on the verge of what will be the most expensive Christmas in history. So warns Consubalthe consumers and users’ organization of the Balearic Islands. The price increases are around 10%, well above the Consumer Price Index.
“This year the price increase is much higher than in other seasons, for example, the 2023 season. Because demand has increased a lot. And this, undoubtedly, what it does is that, as demand increases, supply becomes more expensive,” said Alfonso Rodriguez, spokesman for Consubal, to La Voz de Ibiza. In addition, consumers tend to leave “everything to the last minute and we also focus on very specific products. Here it is very popular the theme of porcella, which has risen a lot. And then, above all, the area of seafood, fish, which is also rising a lot“. Although the fishermen’s strike over the European Union measures was expected to exert even more pressure on prices, fortunately the quick solution to the conflict avoided this prediction. “The days before the strike, purchases were brought forward, especially of seafood, for fear that, as a result of the strike and the measures proposed from Brussels, the boats would not leave and there would be no native fish, no local fish. But in the end there will be no problem,” Rodriguez explained.
Runaway consumption
The Consubal spokesman reiterated that “this year we are well ahead, for example, of 2023 or 2022, but there is also a very obvious reason and that is the increase in consumption. We are consuming well above our needs and, above all, we are consuming above our possibilities,” he said. In this sense, he pointed out that “consumer credits, quick credits and applications are increasing. And this means that we are spending money we don’t have and this is really dangerous”. This has caused increases, according to Consubal’s calculations, to be “around 10% above last year”. This is well above inflation levels: “We are at 2 and something in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) and yet the price increase is well above, is around 10%,” explained Rodriguez consulted by La Voz de Ibiza.
The most expensive Christmas in history
In addition to the increase in food, Rodriguez explains that “butane has also gone up, which is the fuel used to heat the house, especially for families with fewer resources. Now electricity and telephony will also go up, in other words, it is going to be a complicated Christmas”. As for toys, the price variation, although it exists, “is not as big as it has happened in the shopping Festivities, in food. The price has increased, but at more or less normal and predictable levels”.
Holiday Saving Tips
For this reason, Consubal has detailed a series of tips and recommendations to save under two premises: “Plan what we have and, above all, adjust to our needs”. As for gifts, they recommend, “especially for the elderly, move the purchase of gifts to the sales that take place immediately after Christmas and this can help us to save something. In addition, they raised the need to “plan the lunches and dinners we have. Based on this plan and based on our possibilities, create the menus and the purchases we are going to need.” “And above all, if we have guests or we have dinner on Christmas Eve, for the meal on the 25th try to make the menu can take advantage of what we have left over from the night before,” proposed the consumer spokesman. In this sense, he concluded that “this is also very important because, unfortunately, advertising and companies encourage us to be happy. It seems that there is an obligation to be happy at Christmas and, moreover, happiness is going to be achieved through consumption, eating a lot, drinking a lot and spending a lot”.
