The News.by program "Special Report" claimed on May 22 that Poland's presidential election in spring 2025 took place against a backdrop of soaring prices and a decline in living standards.
"This spring in Poland, almost everything has gotten more expensive — from groceries to cleaning products and children's goods, according to the PAP news agency. To put it in numbers, vegetable prices jumped 16.6% over the past year. In 2025, they rose another 6%. Fruit prices weren’t far behind. On average, fruit prices climbed 12.5% over the year. Butter, margarine, and vegetable oil went up by nearly 6% in just six months. Over the course of a year, those items increased by almost 15%. Eggs topped the charts, with prices doubling in a year. Meanwhile, wages have remained flat and are lower than in other EU countries. Polish websites sharing tips on which days and even hours are best for shopping have grown popular. Some sites even show where to score expired food," the program stated.
Some of the figures cited in the program turned out to be accurate. Butter and margarine rose sharply compared to April last year, climbing nearly 15% on average. Fruit prices went up 12.5%. But vegetable prices increased by about 4%, not nearly 17% as claimed. According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office, egg prices rose 16.4% over the year. That’s the biggest price increase among food products. But it’s six times lower than the figure cited in the News.by segment.
Overall, annual inflation in Poland reached 4.2% in April. In Belarus, according to Belstat, the rate was 6.5%. That’s nearly one and a half times higher than in Poland.
In April, Poland’s statistics office reported that the average private sector salary topped the equivalent of 2,000 euros. Over the past year, private sector wages rose by 9.3%. In the public sector, the most recent data show a 10.5% increase year over year. It’s true that Poland still lags behind much of the EU when it comes to wages, but Eurostat data from 2023 shows it has surpassed Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, and Romania.
As for claims that websites offering tips on the best times to shop are popular in Poland, the WTF team did find one. But it focuses not on discounts or expired food, but on the hours when stores are less crowded.
