The impact of accession on food prices, inflation and food consumption in Greece

Abstract

This paper deals with the impact of Greece's accession to the EC on food prices, inflation, and food consumption. The changes in food prices are estimated by the residuals method and the impact on consumption by the analytical method. It is found that accession has increased the price of food by about 8.5 percent, causing a first round impact on inflation of 3.5 percent. Livestock product prices went up substantially, while most crop prices fell compared to the no-CAP situation. The structure of food consumption also changed. Meat, milk, and sugar consumption fell, whereas the consumption of vegetables, citrus fruits, and beverages increased. Total food consumption decreased by about 1 percent. Copyright 1990 by Oxford University Press.