If a family of four wants to eat three fruits a day they will spend 200 euros a month, according to the OCU

Last July it closed with the inflation rate breaking a record. Specifically, it reached 10.8%, its highest rate since 1984. In the month of August the forecasts do not promise to improve. At the moment, staple foods have continued to become more expensive to the point that if a family of four wants to eat at least three pieces of fruit a day you have to spend just over 200 euros a month. This is almost 15% more than just a year ago.

Families who have this routine are having to get used to cutting costs and therefore food. We either eat less or spend more. There are families who cannot even afford basic foods such as fish, vegetables or fruit. The latter is one of the most expensive products. Although the Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) recommends eating fruit daily drunk to its beneficial properties, not everyone can afford it today with rising prices.

The OCU regrets “this increase in the price of fruit, especially national and seasonal fruit, which should be more affordable and become one of the pillars of our diet”. Milk, eggs or bread are commodities that have also risen in price. Fish is also one of those affected: we spend 8% more per person even though we buy less or we buy the cheapest.

In the analysis carried out by the OCU we observed that the best prices are found in citrus fruits such as grapefruit, tangerine, orange or lemon. As the star product in relation to its high price (and in addition to season) we find watermelon. This fruit in June 2022 was 66% more expensive than the previous year. Oranges and plums cost around 20% more than in 2021.

The price of domestic fruit last June rose. Orange, apple, clementine and tangerine are the cheapest, where the ration is around 0.40 euros. Meanwhile, a ration of more “seasonal” fruits, such as watermelon, plum, grape or melon exceeds 0.60 or 0.70 euros.

The OCU says with this data that eating three portions of fruit per day can mean, on average, about 1.80 euros. For a family of four, during the month of June 2022, the consumption of fruit is about 216 euros. This figure is 13% more than last year: in June 2021, eating three servings of national fruit per day meant just over 190 euros for a family of the same characteristics.