Prices in Europe: from single to double
From simple to double. In 2009, the price of a comparable basket of food and soft drinks were twice as high in the Member State of the European Union the most expensive in the cheapest, according to a survey published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, which compared the prices of nearly 500 products in 37 countries across Europe.
Among the 27 countries of the European Union, Denmark takes the top spot, with rates higher than 39% the EU average. The Nordic country is followed by Ireland (29%) and Finland (20%). A laggard, Poland is the EU country where food prices are the lowest, 36% lower than average.Romania (34%) and Bulgaria (32%) are just ahead of Poland at the end of this ranking.
According to Eurostat, France was the eighth most expensive country in the EU for food in 2009, behind Germany (7th) and Belgium (6th), where food prices were respectively 11% and 15% higher than average.
In France, food prices (including soft drinks) were 10% more expensive than the EU average in 2009, reports Eurostat. In detail, the bread and cereals were costing 13% more in France, the 22% more meat and milk, cheese and eggs 4% more. Excluding food, prices of alcoholic beverages in France were 5% below the European average.Tobacco, however, was 33% more expensive.
"Taxation, particularly on alcohol and tobacco, varies enormously from one country to another, and this has an obvious impact on prices of products sold to consumers," says Mathieu Plane, an economist at the French Observatory Economic Conditions (OFCE). So tobacco is even more expensive in Ireland (117% above the EU average) and the United Kingdom (66%).
Discrepancies of wealth even more important
Other parameters explain the wide disparity within the EU. "The final prices are higher in the importing countries," says Mathieu Plane. Costs such as transportation of products are indeed passed on the labels on the shelves."As for producing countries, wages and other production costs are also reflected in consumer prices." Prices that are reported above the standard of living of each country.
Again, the European Institute of Statistics has found very large differences in wealth within the EU, in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) of all 27 members to its population. According to figures recently released by Eurostat, the EU's 13 states have a standard of living than the European average. France is in 11th place with 7% above average. At the other end of the table, Bulgaria ranks dead last with a per capita wealth less than 59% above the average of the 27 states. And seven times lower than the first classification, Luxembourg!
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