CYPRIOTS are paying sky high prices for milk, cheese, eggs, fish and soft drinks, in some cases over 40 per cent above the EU average, according to a Eurostat report on 2006 prices within the bloc.
The price level index places Cyprus 13th most expensive within the 27-member bloc for certain items of food and drink, more costly than France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Malta.
Overall, prices in Cyprus are seven per cent over the average, while the cheaper listed countries all come in under the 100-point average. For instance, prices in the Netherlands are 88 per cent of the EU average and 83 per cent in Malta. In new member state Bulgaria, prices are only 56 per cent of the EU average.
It’s not the overall figure of 107 for Cyprus that’s shocking, as this is offset by cheaper meat, fruit, vegetables and tobacco, it’s the fact that Cypriots pay more for fish than any other EU country, and even though the vast bulk of the milk, cheese, eggs and soft drinks consumed are produced locally, they are 40 per cent higher than the EU27.
The price of soft drinks is the fourth highest in the EU, and the price of milk, cheese and eggs is the third highest of all the countries; oils and fats are the fifth dearest in Europe.
Consumers’ Association chairman Petros Markou told the Cyprus Mail last night he had not yet seen the new survey, but he was clearly shocked by the results.
“If this is the way it is described, then we are not in a great position,” he said, adding the figures might act as a wake up call to the government to do something about rising prices.
Petrou said that given the fact that the per capita income in Cyprus was only 85 per cent of the EU average, the results of the survey did not bode well “when compared with Holland, Germany and France, where the per capita income is higher than Cyprus”.
“We will study this report and see what we can do about it,” he said.
According to the survey, bread and cereals in Cyprus cost eight per cent above the EU average, and alcohol is 18 per cent dearer, making Cyprus the sixth most expensive place to have a drink. Ireland tops the list among the EU27, where alcohol costs 80 per cent more and in the UK it is over 50 per cent above the EU mean.
Meat, fruit and vegetables come in under the average, but are by no means close to the cheapest in the EU, while tobacco products are just about under the average.
The UK has the most expensive tobacco products, costing 127 per cent more, and Ireland is 86 per cent above the average.
“The survey shows that disparities in the price level index between the EU countries are remarkable,” said Eurostat.
The report said residents of Luxembourg would gain financially by buying bread and cereals in France, fruits and vegetables in Belgium, and milk, cheese and eggs in Germany. For non-alcoholic beverages, France has lower prices than all three countries in the Benelux. France also has the cheapest fish of the four countries, it said.
