Midsummer Index 2026 – prices drop from last year

The decline in prices for typical midsummer food is largely explained by the reduction in VAT on food introduced in April 2026. However, other factors have also contributed, says Marcus Widén, macroeconomist at SEB and responsible for the Midsummer Index.

“Among international trends, we can see that last year’s strong harvests are now driving down the prices of products such as potatoes and grain-related goods, including crispbread, as well as dairy products.”

The largest price decline in the Midsummer Index is for potatoes (-21%), followed by hard cheese (-13.8%) and sour cream (-13.3%).

But it is not all sunshine, celebration and dancing. Some products have become more expensive, including fresh berries (+6.5%) and dry cleaning (+3.8%). As a result, the overall decline in the index, 4.4 per cent, is smaller than the general decline in food prices, which amounts to 6.2 per cent.

“If one item has become slightly more expensive, it is offset by everything else. Fresh berries are perhaps the most important part of Midsummer celebrations, so people will probably overlook the higher price. At the same time, prices are heavily influenced by the season and by when strawberries are ready for harvest, meaning prices are essentially determined in the final days before Midsummer.”

This marks the seventh consecutive year that SEB has published its Midsummer Index. Marcus Widén notes that the cost of a midsummer meal has increased by 31 per cent since 2019, compared with a 27 per cent increase in food prices in the CPI over the same period.

Price changes, May 2025–May 2026

Source: Statistics Sweden (SCB) and SEB. The Midsummer Index is an equally weighted index.