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In the fight against rising prices and inflation, neighboring Greece has introduced the so-called “supermarket consumer basket” which includes 50 basic food items. Following an agreement between the Greek government and the country’s major supermarkets, these essential goods are expected to remain accessible and not increase in price in the coming months.
We made a comparison. We bought 10 basic foods that we buy every week, in our country and in Greece. The calculation shows that with a minimum wage in Bulgaria we can fill the cart 12 times, in Greece we can buy the same goods 22 times, BNT reports.
We go to the market in the town of Serres, in the northern part of Greece. We compare the prices in two large supermarkets. Again, there is a significant increase in the price of basic foodstuffs.
“Absolutely everything has gotten more expensive, bread has gone up by over 1 euro, cheese, meat has gotten more expensive, milk. Recently, everything has gone up by 40-50 cents, absolutely all food items,” he says. Hrisa.
We put 10 main products in the cart. We buy bread for 1 euro, cheese for 10.50. Yogurt costs 75 cents, eggs are the same as here: 20 cents or 40 cents per piece. Chicken meat is cheaper – 4 euros and 19 cents. For all the products in the price list we pay 32 euros and 47 cents.
At the entrance of each business in Greece, the prices and brands of the cheapest goods are indicated. Prices are different in each store, and customers can compare where it is most profitable for them to shop.
“The Greek government is helping, but not helping with this ‘consumer basket’. Everything has become more expensive, there is nothing cheap in food and it is very difficult for people,” says Hrisa.
We also go to the market in Bulgaria to make a comparison. In Ruse, we shop at a neighborhood grocery store. The owner says he provides him with the cheapest products because no one will buy the expensive ones. Despite the lower prices, for bread, yogurt, a kilogram of cheese, 10 eggs, a bottle of oil, a package of rice, a kilogram of apples and potatoes, we leave 32 BGN and 35 cents.
“People are resentful, they are constantly dissatisfied with the fact that prices change, they grumble. They have great difficulties. I only give it to my acquaintances,” said owner Vyara Ivanova.
Fresh meat is rarely sought after in the store, so it is not offered. For pork and chicken, we head to one of the large supermarkets, which is packed with people at lunchtime because you can find products for sale. Among the imports of pork and chicken from Romania and Spain we also find Bulgarian. A kilogram of boneless pork shoulder costs BGN 11.86 and a kilogram of chicken steaks costs BGN 12.70. In total, we spent 57 BGN and 60 cents on the ten products in the cart.
Most consumers admit that they first look at the price, then they think about the quality of the products. The Petrov family still can’t figure out what they spent BGN 50 on.
“Washing powder, soap, little things and we left 50 BGN and 200 BGN for medicine and fuel. Today one of the boarding houses leaves and we live in the village, whatever we earn from kindergarten, I’m crying, I can’t even speak”, says Ivanka Petrova.
Finally let’s compare. In Greece, we paid BGN 5 and 70 cents more for our product list than in Bulgaria. But also – in our country the minimum wage is 710 leva, while in our southern neighbor the minimum wage is 713 euros.
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