As the EU witnesses record inflation sweep through every sector, staple foods are among the hardest hit, with Bread prices reaching record highs.

Year over year, the price of bread in the EU bloc has risen on average, 18%, according to data released on Monday by the EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

Eurostat said, “This is a huge increase compared with August 2021, when the price of bread was on average 3% higher than in August 2020.”

Hungary saw the highest increases, where bread prices rose 66% year over year. Lithuania saw prices increase 33%, and in Estonia and Slovakia, prices were up 32%.

France saw the lowest increase, with prices for a loaf of bread there rising just 8%. Luxembourg and the Netherlands saw prices rise 10%.

The Eurostat data also showed headline inflation increases dramatically, from 3% to 10%.

Eurostat attributed the rise in bread prices to the conflict in Ukraine, noting that both Russia and Ukraine, “have been major exporters of grains, wheat, maize, oilseeds (particularly sunflowers) and fertilizers.”

In addition, conflicts with Russia over the payment for, and delivery of, natural gas, as well as technical issues with the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have caused the price of gas to surge throughout Europe. Bakeries are very often heavily dependent on gas to fire their ovens and provide the heat to bake such baked goods as bread.