GDANSK, Poland, March 15 (Reuters) - Polish consumers
say they are struggling to pay household bills and buy basic
groceries as price rises have reached their steepest in more
than a quarter of a century.
Inflation in Poland was 18.4% year on year in February,
according to statistics office data released on Wednesday, the
highest in 26 years, although economists have predicted it will
mark the peak of the current cycle.
"Prices are quite high especially for food recently," said
Patryk, 29, a product support specialist, who was heading to
work in the northern city of Gdansk. "For example for tomatoes
right now you have to pay about 20 zlotys ($4.49) per kilo. The
normal price was about 12... This is not something I remember in
my life."
A tight labour market means that emerging Europe's largest
economy has continued to post double-digit wage growth, although
pay has not kept up with inflation.
"Let's say I am quite lucky as I managed to get a pay
rise... it balances out a little bit, but as I said you have to
think about what you are buying and if you really need it right
now," Patryk, who only gave his first name, said.
Across Europe prices have surged, in some cases to
multi-decade highs, driven by the impact of the Ukraine war on
energy markets, as well as supply chain disruption linked to the
pandemic.
In Poland, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose
24.0% year on year in February, while prices for housing, water,
electricity and gas gained 22.7%.
Student Kinga, who also only gave her first name, said it
was difficult to afford the bills.
"For example, electricity and if we want to warm our houses
with gas, it's really a huge difference, it's really hard to
pay," she said.
Maciej, a teacher and football coach, who was pushing a baby
in a pram, said inflation made it harder to support his young
family.
"I have two kids and when I must buy milk, Pampers or
something like that, it's expensive," he said.
($1 = 4.4541 zlotys)
(Reporting by Thomas Holdstock, Hedy Beloucif, Francesca
Halliwell, writing by Alan Charlish; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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