The cost of food in Europe.....

rach83

I have just come back from an unexpected trip to Cyprus (went last year in better circumstances).

Whilst there I could not get over the price of food/drink (even in the non tourist areas). We all moan about how expensive food is in this country but in comparision it is cheap what with the deals etc.

Has anyone else found this whilst abroad? I was speaking to an ex-pat who was the receptionist in our hotel. She said that every few months she would buy a plane ticket back to the UK, go to the supermarkets here to stock up on various items and take it back. She said the money she saved not buying it in Cyprus and buying it in the UK paid for her return plane ticket and it in turn meant that she got to see her family.

Does anyone have any views on this?

geordie_joe

I have a view.

You can't compare prices in other countries unless you also compare wages.

rach83

Judging by what I was being told wages are half....

paulwf

VAT rules on food in the UK are complex but most basic foodstuffs are exempt from VAT. Compare this to Sweden which has a 12% sales tax on food, and next to no domestically produced fruit and veg for half the year. That made a HUGE difference to someone like me who is a veggie that cooks from scratch

For every "rip off" thread about food in the UK we should sometimes stop and remember how cheap and plentiful food can be compared to the average wage. I'm still amazed by the threads where people live healthily off £20 a week or a similar amount.

jenniewb

Thats strange- many times I go shopping I hear or speak to someone (foreign) who is saying something along the lines of "in my Country I can buy 10 of these for that price" normally said about fresh fruit and vegetables so find it odd that now this is not the case.

Clowance

Found food expensive in Tenerife too, even veg grown there. And the quality not great either (this was in an assortment of supermarkets, didn't try small shops or markets).

ceridwen

I've been browsing that Australian website recently - www.livebelowtheline.com - in which this man attempts to eat for no more than $2 aus per day for a 5 day period (ie it comes to £5.83 in our currency for 5 days). He says he is doing this because it is what is deemed to be the average spend on food per day amongst the Worlds poor.

A commendable attempt on his part in one sense. On the other hand - I wonder whether that $2aus per day has been calculated to take into account the relative prices of food in different countries - ie $2aus per day would buy a lot more food in India, for instance, than in Australia.

Is there some index anywhere that adjusts prices in accordance with the differing costs of food between different countries?

Kayteehee

ceridwen wrote: »

I've been browsing that Australian website recently - www.livebelowtheline.com - in which this man attempts to eat for no more than $2 aus per day for a 5 day period (ie it comes to £5.83 in our currency for 5 days). He says he is doing this because it is what is deemed to be the average spend on food per day amongst the Worlds poor.

A commendable attempt on his part in one sense. On the other hand - I wonder whether that $2aus per day has been calculated to take into account the relative prices of food in different countries - ie $2aus per day would buy a lot more food in India, for instance, than in Australia.

Is there some index anywhere that adjusts prices in accordance with the differing costs of food between different countries?

Many people in Australia are currently undertaking the challenge, not just one man. My friend is doing it at the moment too. I think it must be even harder in Australia because food in the supermarket is much more expensive than here, due to drought etc.

I lived their for nine months and found it was quite difficult to shop on a budget, especially as a vegetarian.

pennymakespounds

as someone in this industry all my life ... and travels to spain , france , tenerife a lot .. i can definitely agree with the points being made .

The reality is that in the uk there is such a battle going on between the big 4 multiples .. and then "aggrevated" by the discounters .. that our prices are extremely competitive .

We really don't realise just how cheaply we can get things here !!
. .. and we have the mass of bogofs .. own label and basics/value lines that you don't find abroad.

I'd say in tenerife i pay at least 50% more on an average basket . Not helped either that any uk brands there have to be at least 25% more expensive with shipping costs .. and you don't get bogofs etc ! .

mimidaler

i go to france every year as i have family there and i have noticed a price rise on food but not so much that i would call it more expensive than england. I think the quality is different, english supermarket food is quite crap in my opinion. Fruit is bland and doesnt smell of fruit and things like ready meals are pumped full of junk, and dont forget the lack of selection, we are a small island but you still cant get nice fresh fish or seafood in luton (where i live) i would rather have less food, but better quality and more expensive.

also in france, people pay less for their rent and more for consumables.

Owain_Moneysaver

jenniewb wrote: »

Thats strange- many times I go shopping I hear or speak to someone (foreign) who is saying something along the lines of "in my Country I can buy 10 of these for that price" normally said about fresh fruit and vegetables so find it odd that now this is not the case.

Possibly because fresh fruit and vegetables (and fresh fish) are something of a luxury in this country, and most people don't look beyond their nearest supermarket for them.

I bet our BOGOFS on chicken nuggets, tinned ravioli and microwave chips with chippy sauce knock anything the con'inen'als can produce off the shelf.