Food industry notices slight growth in sales volume

Total food industry sales volume increased 5.6 percent in May this year compared to May last year. Food industry sales prices rose an average of 4.6 percent over the same period, resulting in a limited 1 percent growth in sales volume. This improvement is significant compared to the situation in April this year, when sales volume was still declining. These data were recently analyzed on the basis of CBS figures by our economics editors.

The 1 percent increase in the turnover volume of the food industry in May shows a positive development compared to April this year. In that month, sales volume fell about 4.5 percent. Although cash sales increased 1.8 percent, a 6.3 percent increase in sales prices caused the quantity sold (volume) to decrease by about 4.5 percent. The growth in April and May contrasts sharply with the strong sales increases that took place in the first quarter of this year. In January, February and March, cash sales increased 22.9, 22 and 17.6 percent, respectively. Over the first five months of this year, food industry money sales rose a total of 13.5 percent.

Domestic sales rise faster than exports in May

In May this year, the food industry's cash sales for domestic buyers rose markedly faster than for exports. Sales at domestic buyers increased by 9 percent compared to May last year, while foreign buyers showed an increase of 2.8 percent. Over the first five months of this year, the difference between sales development for domestic (+12.3 percent) and foreign customers (+14.4 percent) was less pronounced.

Declining trend in sales price increase food industry

In July last year, the price trend in the food industry reached a record high with an increase of 23.2 percent. From January of this year, however, the rate of increase began to decline continuously. In January, price growth was still 18.3 percent and in May it was only 4.6 percent.