On March 29, 2025, CTV’s “News” program claimed that “Estonians are being forced to tighten their belts and cut back on groceries as prices keep climbing.”
“Local media are reporting a noticeable drop in consumer purchasing power. According to the latest data, grocery store sales across the country fell 5% in just one month — from February to March. What’s especially concerning is the sharp rise in prices for essential food items like eggs, meat, fish, and dairy. Experts link the sharp price hike to several factors, including overall inflation across Europe,” the anchors concluded.
Estonian media, citing the national statistics department, reported a 5% drop in grocery store sales in February 2025. But that decline was year over year — compared to February 2024 — not just over a single month. They also pointed out that sales of non-food items are actually going up.
According to official data, prices in Estonia rose 5.3% from February 2024 to February 2025. In Belarus, the increase over the same period was slightly higher — 5.6%.
The WTF team checked whether meat, fish, and dairy products in Estonian stores really got more expensive, as CTV claimed. A price comparison at one retail chain between March of last year and this year revealed that dairy products went up in price, while meat and fish became cheaper. The cost of a consumer shopping basket of 47 items rose by less than €1 over the year.
Just three days earlier, on March 26, CTV reported on the problems facing Lithuanians — rising milk prices and inflation. How much the numbers were inflated, read on in this article.
