Grocery shopping then and now

Only those who have been living under a rock have failed to notice a dramatic increase in grocery prices this year.

“All prices have gone up, but our customers tend to notice some price increases more than others,” says Dánial Jespersen, a coordinator at the SMS consortium, which owns Tórshavn’s Miklagarður supermarket, the Bónus grocery chain along with bakery chain Mylnan.

“We are selling much more of our ‘First Price’ brand, our sales of sweets have gone down and our bargains sell out much faster than before.”

Sales of basic food products such as milk, bread and meat remain largely unchanged although these products have also seen major price increases.

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The annual inflation rate for the Faroes from June 2021 to June 2022 was 7.3 percent. This is the highest year-on-year change for 14 years.

In his ólavsøka speech, Prime Minister Bárður á Steig announced plans to introduce one-time direct payments of up to DKK 7,000 for households struggling with the rising costs of living.

A proposal for this inflation relief package will be submitted to Parliament in early September. If approved, the package will be introduced immediately.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.