Irish households spent 8% of their budget on food in 2021, which is less than the EU average of 14%, according to Eurostat data.
During this time period, households in the European Union spent more than €1 billion, or 7% of EU GDP, on food and soft drinks.
The largest share of spending in this category in 2021 was registered in Romania – 25%, and in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland and Slovakia – almost 20%.
In contrast, the lowest rates were in Ireland, Luxembourg, Austria, Denmark and Germany.
The share of total household expenditure on food decreased in all EU countries compared to 2020, except for Poland and Slovakia, where it increased. The biggest drop was in Greece, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia and Slovenia.
The Eurostat showed Irish households also spent around 3% of their budget on alcohol, down from the previous year but still slightly above the EU average.
Alcohol consumption figures do not include spending on alcoholic beverages served in restaurants and hotels, as the data is from the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many hospitality businesses were affected by some lockdown measures.
In 2021, compared to the previous year, the total share of household alcohol expenditure remained unchanged in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. increased only in Croatia.
Among the other EU member states, the largest decline was recorded in Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Estonia.
Before the pandemic, households in the European Union spent more than 956 billion euros or 6.8% of EU GDP on food and soft drinks.
Full effect from inflation Household budgets, especially food expenses, for 2022 are still unclear.
Ireland’s annual inflation rate fell to 7.7% in January, leaving consumers hoping for lower prices.
This figure was significantly lower than the eurozone’s annual inflation rate of 9.2% recorded in December.
Prices fell as the EU-coordinated measure of consumer price inflation in Ireland remained unchanged at 8.2% in the 12 months to December, but inflation continued to fall.
