Paphos most expensive place to shop, survey reveals (Updated)

The story has been updated to reflect the correct prices for Nicosia as the initial information provided by the ministry was wrong.

A consumer price survey released on Thursday showed that the cheapest supermarket for a basket of 98 goods in Nicosia was Athienitis supermarket at €232.95 with Ioannides coming in a close second at €238.55.

The survey from the consumer protection service of the commerce ministry covered supermarkets in all districts but different numbers of items were used in each area making an overall comparison more difficult.

In Nicosia 98 items were covered and were most expensive at Debenhams at €291.76, almost €60 more than the cheapest. In the middle were Metro at €261.75 and Alfa Mega at €263.01. Carrefour was second at €267.29.

Inspectors checked 132 items in the Limassol area. Lyssiotis supermarket came out cheapest at €343.83 with Debenhams the most expensive at €385.49.

It appears Paphians are paying through the nose. For 94 items, Alfa Mega was cheapest at €256.56 but when compared to Nicosia where 98 items were covered, it out-cost the two cheapest supermarkets in the capital.

The most expensive supermarket in Paphos was Debenhams for the 94 items at €282.87. Larnaca shoppers can buy 127 items – 33 more – for almost the same price at Stelios supermarket totting up to €295.07. Most expensive in Larnaca was Carrefour at €343.96 for the 127 items.

The consumer service said it was cautious in comparing prices in different areas due to varying brands stocked in supermarkets across the four main districts. The information should be used as a general guide and not gospel, it said.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.