COVID-19′s First Wave: Examination of Impact on Food Purchasing Behaviour in the Eurozone

Abstract

COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the living conditions of people in all countries worldwide. With a devastating economic crisis where many families are finding it difficult to pay bills and make ends meet, increases in prices of food basket staples can be very worrying. This study examines the relationship between the incidence of the pandemic during the first wave in 16 Eurozone countries with the variation experienced in food prices. We analysed the harmonised index of consumer food prices (included in HICP) and the classification of the degree of pandemic impact by country, the latter established with the index of deaths provided by the Johns Hopkins Center. The procedure used compared actual food prices during the first wave (March to June 2020) with those foreseeable in the absence of the pandemic. Time series analysis was used, dividing the research period into two phases. In both phases, the Holt–Winters model was applied for estimation and subsequent prediction. After a contrast using Kendall’s tau correlation index, it was concluded that in the countries with the highest death rates during the first wave, there was a higher increase in food prices than in the least affected countries of the Eurozone.