Νo, Greece is not the most expensive country in the European Union, when it comes to comparison of salaries and prices of goods and services it sure is. This is the result of the Detailed Average Price Report November 2013 published by the European Commission.
With the minimum wage at 586 euro gross and salaries to have suffered losses of 30%, Greek consumers pay much more to cover basic needs than consumers in countries where goods are more expensive.
Looking at indicative prices of 20 basic goods in supermarkets (rice , bread , milk , eggs , olive oil, flour, toothpaste, etc. ) in Greece , Portugal , the Netherlands and Luxembourg one concludes that Greece actually has the most expensive consumers’ basket. and this because Greek consumers spend the largest percentage of their salary for basic goods, when compared to the other three countries, notes daily Ta Nea.
Within the euro zone, Greeks buy
the most expensive butter (250gr = €2.89) and margarine (250gr = €1.10)
the most expensive eggs (10pieces = €2.84), whole chicken (1kg = €3.89), flour (1kg = €1.22), white bread (1kg = €2.10)
Also the most expensive toothpaste (100ml = €3.48) and toilet papers (10rolls = €5.07)
Indicative: 1kg rice costs €2.89 in Greece, €0.96. in Portugal, €1.90 in the Netherlands and €3.46 in Luxembourg.
Of course, the prices of the EC report are “average” as butter in the supermarket costs €3 for 200gr and I never spent less than €8 for a whole chicken of 1000-1200gr.
I checked some prices in the Detailed Average Price Report November 2013 and was surprised not to find Greek data on the very expensive detergents, baby diapers and other toiletry items.
Everybody living in Greece knows the real prices, everybody knows that doing supermarket shopping can leave you with just a few euro coins in your wallet for the rest of the week. Therefore I post about the prices report just for the record.
PS The good news: taxi fares are due to decrease, with the minimum fare to drop from €3.20 down to €2.80. As of this week or next week, if I am not mistaken.
Go to Lidl!!!! 2.9 euros for a kilo of chicken.
butter 250 GR 1.6 Euros
Milk 0.96 a liter
Toothpaste 1.5 liters.
Its up to the greek consumer to stop being ripped off by greek supermarket chains and not to buy the ‘luxury brands’
Admit it, many people in Greece have a complex to buy the ‘cool’ brands. No one is forcing you to buy them. Free market”
how about paying 10euro for allowing you to post an ad of a private company? PS I remember years ago, we had bought 1/2kg cheese in Germany, we drove it through France & Spain through July and brought it back. The cheese did not even melt from the heat. Any reasonable explanation?