A recent publication from FranceAgriMer shows that French household expenditure is resistant to the crisis. Fruit and vegetables are stagnating in volume but increasing in price.
“The share spent on food in French household budgets, which was decreasing annually, has not stopped decreasing since 2008, to an extent that it is more or less at the level in 2013 that it was at in 2000” says FranceAgriMer. In 2012, despite the demographic growth, a record decrease in consumption volume expenditure was noted. Between 2008-2013, individual consumption volume expenditure stagnated (-0.1% per year), whilst it had been increasing by 1.5% previously between 2000-2007. The development on expenditure on consumption, food products, lodging and charges is little affected by the crisis, unlike expenditure on hobbies, clothes, transport, furnishing and eating out.
Individual expenditure on fruit volume increased before the crisis on an annual average 0.7% rhythm; 0.4% per year for vegetables. Since 2003 vegetable consumption is no longer increasing and fruit consumption is decreasing on average by 0.2% per year. Since 2008, average prices continue to increase, but on slightly inferior rhythm compared to before the crisis. Fruits have gone from a 3.1% increase per year between 2000-2007 to an annual 2.5% increase between 2008-2013. Vegetables have gone from an annual 2.3% to 2.0% increase. Despite the decrease in volume of consumption, price expenditure continues to increase, since 2008, over 2% per year for both fruit and vegetables.