“The Development Minister has requested a repeat of last year’s initiative to reduce prices on 1,000 codes of basic products,” emphasized Apostolos Petalas, General Director of the Greek Supermarket Union, speaking on Parapolitika 90.1 radio show “Her and I” with journalists Stella Gantona and Thanasis Fouskidis. He also mentioned that the average shopping basket is cheaper in Greece according to IELKA research conducted across 9 European countries.
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Petalas: “This year the minister requested this initiative to reach 1,000 product codes”
Regarding the initiative to reduce prices on certain basic products, he emphasized: “This is an initiative by the ministry and the minister. The minister has met with both supermarkets and the food industry union, as well as the union of companies with branded personal care and household products, and requested everyone make an effort to repeat last year’s initiative. From early October until the end of the year, 69 companies – all supermarkets combined – offered 750 product codes with price reductions ranging from 5% to 15%. I estimate something similar will happen this year. Last year it covered 750 codes, of which approximately 580 were basic food items and the rest were household care products. We’re talking only about standardized products. This year, the minister requested this initiative to reach 1,000 codes.”
He noted: “Food inflation specifically for August across Europe is currently 3.3%, in Greece it’s 2.2%, and in supermarkets it’s 1.6%. Supermarkets don’t determine final prices on their own – when a supplier imports a product, they also set the recommended price. It’s an exaggeration to say that all prices outside Greece are cheaper and all prices in Greece are more expensive. There’s an organized IELKA methodology that measures approximately 6,000 products across 9 European countries to track how prices evolve compared to Greece. We examine this both pre-VAT and post-VAT because Greece has very high VAT rates. The reality is that compared to all these countries, the average shopping basket is cheaper in Greece.”
