The cost of food in Europe.....

kerri_gt

My boss just came back from Portugal and commented on how much more expensive the supermarket food was than he had expected - and we do regular business purchasing using € so are well aware of the current exchange rate (and how it's changed)

I recently unearthed a copy if Which? magazine from Dec 2009 where they compare the cost of Supermarket shopping, a Ford Focus, Petrol, Engery Bills and Broadband in the UK and Germany, Spain, France and Italy each year. In the study they have weighted the costings according to disposable income data - thus removing the effect of the fluctating exchange rates. Based on the study, which was for a basket of branded groceries, in the UK we spend £552 per year, compared to Germany - £684, Spain - £745, France - £690 and Italy - £786.

Of course there are factors such as 'branded goods' vary between countries, it isn't clear whether they used brands that are produced in each country, or what this basket of good are, but it was an interesting read. The other interesting thing was, that for Petrol, the UK came out in the middle - with Spain and Italy totalling more.

Enterprise_1701C

This is precisely why we are not going to Europe on holiday this year - we are off the Egypt and do not expect the prices to be too bad, though if anyone has any idea of prices over there I would be grateful to hear of any!

We went to Thailand about 7/8 years ago and were dining out with drinks for 4 of us for £15. I know this is about supermarket prices, but that must be reflected on restaurant prices. If anyone wants a cheap holiday I highly recommend Thailand.

chelms38

I don't know about anyone else,but when I go on holiday abroad I don't tend to eat that much due to the hot weather.And before anyone thinks I drink loads of alcohol instead I gave that up years ago.So when I come back from holidaying abroad I usually lose about a stone in weight.

totmalysh

I went to see parents in Estonia and yet again was amazed how they can survive on VERY low salaries (£200 a month) with prices for food, clothes and anything really. While the prices do not seem that drastic for us, when converted, imagine having only £200 for a month to live on.
E.g. Milk 1 l -£1, bread £0.75, beef £4-10 a kilo, etc.

banaltra

The quality of fresh fruit, vegetables & meat in the UK is abysmal. Yes, it's cheap, but you get what you pay for. Anytime I travel home to Ireland, I always stock up on fresh meat and vegetables.
When I travel to France, I tend to get up early and go to the local market for fruit and vegetables, there, I find the prices quite reasonable. Admittedly, I live as a local when I go there and don't really use supermarkets.

jessilu1

emsybob wrote: »

I live in Spain on the costa blanca in a semi tourist resort and i find that the prices here are more expensive than the uk, mainly because there isnt the competition between supermarkets and the choices are very limited.
For example a jar of dolmio sauce is around 3.50E
A jar of patacks curry sauce is 4.00E
I no these are english products but there is no Spanish equivilant.
So i found that i couldnt cook when i moved here 2 years ago but i can now.
I make everything from scratch but it still isnt that cheap.
I own a bar so i no the prices of products inside out, in our cheapest local supermarket Mercadona our whole chickens are 1.84 a kilo, chicken breast is 4.90 a kilo, pork joint is 3.90 a kilo, a small tin plum tomatoes 0.55. 12 pack of coke 5.95. Tomatoes today were 1.35 kilo. Pizza supermarket make 12" 2.39
The best value thing i find is the wine. I pay 1.29cents a bottle of red riocca n its really nice. All wine is cheap.
Also bogofs dont exist or 3 for 2.
A bottle of evlive shampoo 250ml is arounf 4.00 and a sure 350ml deodorant around 5.00. And these are spanish products not imported from england. Also there are no pound shops etc we have todos shop run by chinese that are like the very downmarket pound shops selling tourist rubbish n the odd over priced shampoo.
I feel like a child in a sweetshop when i return to england for a holiday and browse the isles of tesco asda and the rest.
Oh n wages are poor here to around 5.50 an hour. So it doesnt go very far!

I also have a home on the Costa Blanca, also in a semi tourist area/Spanish Village and I totally agree with you Bob. I used to hate shopping in Tesco et al, but after living in Spain for 6 years and lacking the variety in food (there's only so much Paella one can eat ), and the high prices and low wages, I was pleased, nay delighted to be worshipping at the alter of British Supermarkets again.

When we first moved to Spain the food definitely was cheaper (although it was lacking in variety), water was 10cents a litre, and petrol was 49cents a ltr. Inflation in the last 6 years has rocketed, to where the euro and pound are almost parity. Petrol is now 1.22 euro per litre, and food prices don't rise by 2p and 3pences like they do here but 20 cents and that's every week. Pay 1 euro for a pack of mince, one week, by the end of the month it's almost doubled in price.

The only saving grace is the fruit & veg, as long as you buy it from a Market stall, it's fresh, twice as big as ours on average and very cheap compared to anything you can buy here. Buy it in a Supermarket and it's enormously expensive.

I still spend 6 months of the year in Spain but I make sure that we take a lot of cheaper food back with us each trip now.

Fortunately for my o/h the wine is still cheap but sadly not in the bars any more, only in the supermarket or at the Bodegas' ! :beer:

TravellingAbuela

The price of food in Spain (in particular Majorca) now influences the type of holiday we take there. We always preferred the freedom of a self-catering apartment, eating out or in as our mood decided. In the last couple of years we found we were spending an absolute fortune at the supermarket and for decent restaurant meals. So now we stay in a hotel on a half-board basis and it costs us far less overall. (But I would still prefer to stay in an apartment if money was no object!)

HANICKA_2

mimidaler wrote: »

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.

I agree, I live in Barrow In Furness on the West Coast and the choice of fish and the quality is very poor.

Sharon87

I lived with a French girl and she was surprised at how much cheaper food was over here. She told me about how she can't get much fresh stuff in France, fresh fruit and veg are rare. She always got tinned veg.

She did say some of the processed food in France is much tastier, and she was right. She bought this instant mash over, and these crispy pancake type things and they were gorgeous! So much better than anything like it over here! Also a polish girl I worked with mentioned how expensive anything is in Poland, not just food. A cinema ticket (we worked at a cinema) would cost a days wage! So equivilant to about £50-£60

My friend who went travelling noticed than non Euro countries were so cheap, whilst Euro currency countries were so much more expensive.

kerri_gt

I don't know why we are surprised about some of the fruit and veg in the UK being watery and tastless when we are eating strawberries in December. Much of the imported fruit/veg is picked before it is ripe so it doesn't go off before it hits our shelves, and things grown out of season are forced in artificial environments and pumped with chemical stimulents. Eat fruit/veg that is in season and you should notice a difference in taste, and of course price!

Other options are growing your own, though this can be costly if not planned out well, or visit a local PYO if there is one near you. It's not always the cheapest option, and can be costly if you pick more than you need, but it will be in season and grown locally so you are supporting local business as well as having a nice afternoon out.