The prices of the typical household basket remain lower in Greek supermarkets compared with France, England, Italy and Spain, according to research by the Research Institute of Consumer Goods Retail (IELKA). Specifically, by comparing prices based on data from price comparison platforms in each country, but also on prices from supermarket chains, prices in France were 18% higher than in Greece, in Britain they were higher by 7%, in Spain by 3%, in Italy by 7% while in Portugal the prices are approximately at the same levels as in Greece.

The picture of the results changes significantly if VAT is removed, which is different per country. Comparing the baskets shows that all six countries have a more expensive average basket than Greece, France by 26%, the UK by 17%, Italy by 20%, Spain by 11% and Portugal by 2% . This is a result of the difference in the low VAT per country (this is the VAT referred to food and drinks). In Greece this VAT is 13%. VAT is significantly higher than the UK (0% or 5%) and France (10% and 5.5%), Spain (10% and 4%), Portugal (13% and 6%), Italy (5% and 4%), but also most EU countries. The main difference is that food which in Greece is subject to the high VAT rate with 24% in the rest of the countries is subject to the low VAT rate, which is also lower than the Greek with 6%, 5.5%, 4% or even 0%. It is noted that the effect of special consumption taxes (e.g. coffee) cannot be included in the above figures.

According to IELKA, the general conclusion that emerges from the above analysis is that the organized Greek food retail trade (supermarket) provides Greek consumers with access to products for their standard basket at an average lower price which is the result of the organized effort of suppliers and retailers to hold down prices in recent years. This trend, with minor fluctuations, has been consistent over the last 10 years that this research has been carried out by IELKA. The long-term price comparison with abroad shows that in recent years Greece has consistently had a cheaper basket than the compared countries with fluctuations that do not change the general conclusion of the analysis.

In relation to the previous measurement of December 2022, the fluctuations in price development are small. Specifically, prices in Greece are stable (-0.29%), as are France (-0.25%) and the United Kingdom (-0.45%), a decrease is recorded in Portugal (-0.91%) and growth in Spain (+1.95%) and Italy (+1.61%). It is noted that this comparison concerns the period December 2022-March 2023 and not the comparison with the same month the previous year as happens in the case of calculating inflation, it concerns the specific basket of products and concerns only the supermarket channel.

In addition to VAT, factors that should be taken into account when comparing prices between different countries are:

-The country’s distance from the production centers of central and western Europe and the corresponding costs

– Energy and transport costs

– The complexity of each country’s geography (e.g. road network, islands, etc.)

– The size of the market and corresponding economies of scale in product procurement

-The export-import balance in relation to food and raw materials for its manufacture

-The various production costs (energy, raw materials, salary costs, financial costs, bureaucracy)

– The productivity of industry and retail trade in each country

-Consumer habits and purchasing power in each country

– The amount of taxation in each country.

It is noted that the price data are calculated from well-known price observatories of the countries examined and for Greece in the primary data from price collections in large supermarket chains. The selection criteria of the products in the basket were a combination of corresponding used baskets for evaluation abroad, as well as common availability of price data in the countries examined. In each new measurement, the sample of the codes being measured is renewed and depending on the availability, different quantities of products are selected.

The data comes from the following supermarket chains Greece (Sklavenitis, AB, My Market, Masoutis, Market In), United Kingdom (Morrisons, ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Coop, Ocado, TESCO), Spain (Carrefour, Marcadona, Caprabo, Condis, Dia, Eroski, SoySuper, Alcampo), Italy (CosiComodo, emiDrive, Pim Spesa, Agora, Everli, HeyConad, easyCoop), Portugal (continente, MiniPreco, Auchan, Spar) and France (monoprix plus, carrefour, super U, Auchan, Aldi).