Several studies say that on average, the price of fresh foods rise 120% from the time they leave the wholesale warehouse until they arrive at the retail outlet. This increase is almost double that which occurs between the rancher or farmer and the wholesaler. In some cases, like potatoes and onions, prices go up nearly 250% as they pass from wholesalers to retail outlets. For instance, a potato purchased at 25 euro cents a kilo at the Empresa Nacional MERCASA will sell for 66 euro cents in stores. Sardines and tomatoes don't do much worse, with price rises of 100%. Sardines are sold at 1.24 euros at the wholesale level and are purchased by consumers for 3.43 euros a kilo. Tomatoes that go for 1.21 euros per kilo at the wholesale market go for 2.45 euros at the supermarket.

Why does this big increase occur?
To answer this question let's look at the profit margins of the different players involved in the sale of fresh foods.

Consumer groups have accused large supermarkets specializing in food in of making fresh foods more expensive. Several analysts say the role of so-called hyper-markets is limited (more than 10%) compared to that of supermarkets and markets, which control nearly 90% of market share. Trying to keep down prices of fresh foods, several associations have proposed to the industry a commitment to reduce the difference between origin and destination prices. They have also urged the government's consumer protection office to monitor cases of abuse stemming from the dominant position of large grocery stores.

Seeking to inject transparency and keep down one of the main contributors to inflation, the government has intervened by providing information on the web sites of the Ministry of Agriculture and National Consumer Institute about prices of perishable foods that should appear at wholesale markets. This information is updated weekly and the comparison of the prices reflects the national weighted average, both at wholesale markets and in small retail outlets.

The Finance Ministry also spells out food prices that have the greatest effect on inflation. So for instance the government noted that tomatoes, green peppers and pototoes were the fresh foods that rose most in price in October 2003. At the other end of the spectrum, the foods that nudge inflation the least are green-beans, lettuce and pears.