French consumer association Familles Rurales has released the results of its 2011 price check of 35 products in 72 stores across the country, according to Fld.
The association reported that prices had increased by a record 4.4 per cent over the course of 2011.
Value products had risen by 8.12 per cent, own brand items by 4.14 per cent and national brands by 2.65 per cent, Familles Rurales revealed.
'What is surprising is that value items are more expensive in hard discount stores than in hypermarkets and supermarkets,' said the association's president, Thierry Damien. 'The hard discounters are a trap for consumers, yet it is the lowest income families that tend to shop there.'
Fruit juices reportedly increased by 19 per cent for national brands, 28 per cent for own brand and a staggering 32 per cent for the value category.
