Manufacturers of food and clothing will make their goods more expensive in the coming months due to the rising prices of energy and other inputs. Some transportation companies will also increase their prices. Madeta, the country’s largest dairy company, would raise prices by two to three percent between January and March. Madeta CEO, Milan Teplý, said “higher costs, diesel, energy, and packaging prices” are the reasons that led to this decision.
Trucking from abroad is becoming more expensive, as fuel is becoming more expensive and there is a shortage of drivers, while container transport prices have also increased. In September, annual consumer price inflation was close to 5%, the highest level since 2008. Some other manufacturers are planning to increase the price of their goods by as much as a tenth, while others have already factored inflation into their prices. Most breweries have also increased their prices in recent months.
According to economist Lukáš Kovanda, food has so far stayed away from the big wave of price increases. However, with inflation expected to reach up to 7% by the end of the year, combined with the transportation crisis, food prices will not remain unaffected. Clothing prices are also expected to rise significantly after the New Year, while the general crisis could lead to higher medicines prices.
“Unfortunately, increasing food costs are not only reflected in various goods, such as sugar, oil, and cereals. These products are rising at double rates throughout the world, combined with increasing energy prices that make production more expensive, warned František Brož, spokesman for an online food store.
People will also pay extra for some services, such as public transport. For example, public transport passengers in Plzeň will see an increase in the monthly or annual tram tickets prices from January. The price will rise by last year’s inflation rate of 3.2 percent. Single tickets will not be affected yet.
On August 1st, fares in the capital and the Central Bohemian Region were raised by 20 to 25 percent. In Prague, however, this applied only to single, daily and multi-day tickets. Czech Railways (ČD) will also introduce new prices from December 12th, when the new timetable comes into force.