Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos blamed the strong flows of tourists for the skyrocketing of prices in basic items in Greece, especially in food.
Addressing the Parliament following a question on high prices and food inflation submitted by opposition party Freedom Course, the minister claimed that there was “negative food inflation” in four months in winter.
Theodorikakos claimed further that “food inflation in the middle of summer, in July, was lower than the European Union average.”
The minister stated further: “Let’s agree where we are. We spent four months in the winter with negative food inflation. We spent ten months with negative inflation in basic cleaning and personal hygiene items. And in any case, in these items we had the lowest inflation in the entire EU”.
Referring then to the summer months, he pointed out that “countries like Romania and Bulgaria had food inflation of 7% and 8% and even the Netherlands, which is a very large meat producing country, also had inflation of 3.9%.”
The minister argued that “demand is skyrocketing due to tourism”, and explained that “prices skyrocketed in the summer, as we import 80% of it and prices internationally have skyrocketed, because new, very high standards have been introduced, as a result of which meat production is decreasing throughout the EU and internationally, Greece also has the luck and privilege of skyrocketing demand in the summer, due to strong tourist flows. What don’t you understand? How hard is it for anyone to understand?”.
Claiming that the government measures [?] are working, the Development Minister lashed out at the opposition, claiming that it is playing the… tape of high prices, while, according to him, the government measures are working.
“You say about high prices that we are doing nothing. We are doing what I told you and they are having results. And in the winter when we had negative food inflation and it was the lowest food inflation in the EU, you were still saying that prices were high. This is the… tape. And it is the classic party division, that you are with the poor and we are with the rich. You are wrong, sir. We are with the whole of society, we work with all citizens, we make policies that concern both the middle class and the lowest economic strata,” concluded Takis Theodorikakos.
PS Before I burst into tears in solidarity with the minister whose work is misunderstood and not appreciated, I have to remind him that:
1. The measure of “profit caps on supermarkets” was withdrawn by this same New Democracy government and Minister Theodorikaos himself personally.
2. Inflation started to rise again already in April, before the touristic flows hungrily demanded for more “Meat! Meat! Meat!”
3. Food prices are on constant rise every month and even every week in the last 1.5-2 years. Check Inflation in Greece HERE at KTG.
4. If one compares EU average inflation with the Greek one, one should also take into consideration also the purchasing power of citizens which is in permanent decline as the EUROSTAT has demonstrated several times.
5. As one user posted on X: Without tourists we go hungry [because tourism the heavy industry of the country], with tourists we go hungry, too [because they skyrocket prices]
and finally 6. An appeal to tourists: Can you, please, bring your own food when you visit our country, so that we keep the issue under control?
And THAT PS is why I love this news site.
thanks – I love to write them
What this remarkably ignorant cretin failed to say, midst his innumerate citation of statistics, is that the real problem is the Greek people. If food is too expensive, then just stop eating! Or, as Marie-Antoinette allegedly said in reference to high bread prices, “Let them eat cake”.
Some of the inflation is greed by greeks in tourist areas who increase prices to extract as much as possible from tourists in season and then prices reduce again when the tourists go home. Taking as much of tourists as possible is a global hobby but in greece locals pay as well. This is particularly noticeable in taxi prices and small gas stations where the price mysteriouslt rises by 10 to 20 cents a litre. Of course not everyone benfits from tourism. Only those involved in servicing tourists make extra during the season. Factory workers, shipyard workers for example pay the tourist tax on petrol but get no benefit in return
Wonderful comments KTG .
But one must always blame another !
You have to question if tourism is the benefit it is claimed to be if a significant percentage of the money they bring in is exported again to pay for all the stuff they consume?