Tweeting on an Empty Stomach: Unpacking Food Price Hikes and Inflation via Twitter

This research focuses on food price-related discussions on Twitter, specifically in the Latvian context, with the aim of tracing the impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which caused a global food crisis. Analysing the Latvian Twitter Eater Corpus (LTEC), the research reveals 12 years of food price-related data and includes the effect of COVID-19 on food price discourse in the recent past. The research highlights that meat price-related tweets dominate other discussions during the food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. The Latvian Twitter community tends to share food shopping experiences rather than just discussing prices, while sentiment has shifted towards more negativity, reflecting the impact of rising food costs. Although the study acknowledges limitations in the representation of vulnerable groups and the importance of contextual factors, it highlights the role of social media in capturing public sentiment during economic crises and reveals the most price-sensitive product discussions. This information can be useful for public policy makers.