Portuguese families are feeling the squeeze at the checkout like never before. According to consumer watchdog DECO PROteste, the basic food basket has surged to €249.09 in Portugal, the highest price ever recorded since it started tracking costs in 2022.
“The food basket has never been as expensive,” DECO says in a statement, revealing that the basket of 63 essential goods jumped by €7.27 between January 7 and 14, a sharp rise of +3.01%. The numbers confirm what many families already feel: everyday shopping is getting painfully expensive.
Buying the same basket last year cost €9 less, while four years ago consumers were paying €61.39 less for exactly the same products – a huge leap of over 32%.
Some staples have seen major increases in the last week, such as spaghetti (+23%), gilthead bream (+20%), and spiral pasta (+18%). Looking at the past year, prices have climbed even more dramatically, with sea bass up 41%, ground roasted coffee up 35%, and eggs up 32%.
Going back even further, the price increases are even more noticeable. Some products have seen staggering hikes, such as boiling beef (+97%), eggs (+86%), and tomato pulp (+71%).
DECO PROteste calculates the basket price by tracking online prices at major supermarket chains every week, averaging product costs and adding them together to reflect what consumers actually pay.
All this comes despite inflation showing signs of easing. Official figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show inflation averaged 2.3% in 2025, slightly lower than the year before. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, stood at 2.2% – offering little comfort to shoppers facing soaring grocery bills.
Meanwhile, farmers’ groups say consumers and producers are both being squeezed. The National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) accuses major retailers of charging “brutal differences” between farmgate and shelf prices, while forcing farmers to sell produce below production costs. According to the CNA, big distributors continue to post strong profits while concentrating power across the food chain.
The CNA is calling for urgent action, including fairer pricing at the production level, tougher enforcement of EU rules against unfair trading practices, and greater transparency in the food supply chain. It also wants the government to promote local and short food supply circuits, particularly through public procurement for schools, hospitals and other public institutions.
