Majority of Germans in favour of a food price cap

According to a recent survey by the Oliver Wyman consultancy agency, an overwhelming majority of Germans would support a food price cap to absorb the financial shock of inflation and increased living costs. This is how it could work.

Food price cap in Germany

A staggering 91 percent of people in Germany are in support of the government enforcing a food price cap, according to the results of a recent survey. Back in March, cooking oils were one of the first items on supermarket shoppers’ weekly lists to see a shocking price increases at 23 percent. Since then, the list of increasingly unaffordable but basic items has continued to grow. 

Following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, people in Germany have seen the government grapple with how best to manage rising energy prices. The originally proposed solution of the Gasumlage (gas levy) was ditched in September and replaced with a Gaspreisbremse (gas price cap). The wildly successful 9-euro ticket which was rolled out during the summer, was also intended to cushion the blow to consumers' wallets. 

The representative survey asked 1.000 people across Germany and concluded that the majority believe government-imposed market regulations to cushion the blow of an energy crisis should be extended to another necessity - food. 

How would Germany's supermarket shopping become cheaper?

A food price cap in Germany could see the government set legal caps on certain foods or implement food subsidies. Around half of those surveyed said they would support a price cap on certain products. A third of all respondents also believed that government imposed price caps on the average price of a shopping basket of food could be a solution.

In a summary of the results, retail expert Vanessa Seip wrote, “Food price increases are so severe for customers that they want to explore all avenues when it comes to being able to do food shopping more cheaply again.”

As of yet, the German government has no official plans to bring in a food price cap in Germany.