missile

Cost of Living: I thought it would be interesting to compare supermarket prices Spain v UK
Perhaps not a representative / typical shopping basket and not all items have a direct equivalent. I have price matched only those where I could find a direct equivalent. Consum euros v Sainsburys pounds
3,95 v 2.00
2,55 v 2.80/2 = 1.40
3.10 (315g) v 3.25 (400g)
1.1 v 0.85
1.19 v 1.00
2.65 v 2.75
3.75 v 1.50
1.19 v 1.15
1.39 v 2.20
1.39 v 2.20
1.49 v 1.00
1.70 v N/A
1.75 v 0.80
4.89 v 4.00
3.12 v 3.00
0.86 v N/A
1.35 v 0.80
1.20 v 0.65

marcbernard

What FX exchange rate did you use in your comparison? Or is it left for readers to make the true comparison?

missile

I stated prices in Consum euros v Sainsburys pounds for my basket.
I remember when £1 = 2.69 euros, supermarket prices were significantly lower than UK. IMHO this is no longer the case.

Just an observation. There are other things which are still cheaper and other reasons why we are in Spain.

LarryR

Exactly when was "£1 = 2.69 euros"? What actual year was this lol?

KVP

I'm currently staying in Costa del Sol for a month and I am recording all my purchases in a spreadsheet. Idea is that once I'm home, I'll pop in the price from Dublin to see how it compares.
Currently, other than alcohol, I don't see much of a price difference on most items. If I buy low quality it is cheaper, but I wouldn't buy low quality at home in Ireland, so not much of that to compare.
I'll maybe post the results here when I'm done in a couple weeks.

DLC

XE.com's 10 year chart has the highest in July 2015 at £1 = €1.44. It's currently at €1.20.

Also, Consum is generally a bit expensive isn't it? Their own-brand stuff is also pretty dire.

Any time Spain comes out slightly more expensive than the UK then you could include a 5L bottle of olive oil in your shop.

christmasoompa

So's Sainsbury's, Lidl or Aldi (or even Tesco's) would be much cheaper, so maybe it's like for like.

bobd22

We shop much the same as we did in the UK here it's Lidl or Mercado usually UK it was Aldi ,Sainsbury or Morrisons normally. I think our shopping bill here compares similar to slightly cheaper than UK in Euros. There will be more wine in the shop here mind. Overall I think we get more for our money here general shopping in supermarket. Although it has risen a bit here from what I hear from relatives in UK not as much as price rise there.

SanNico

I agree it's catching up with the UK but if you take a months worth of receipts you will probably see the difference. I find the fresh produce much cheaper here. Anything pre-packaged or processed is more expensive so it doesn't affect most people. Toiletries are a bit steep here though.

Lynn R

The Primor chain is very good for the better brands of perfumes, skincare and cosmetics, with permanent discounts (not just at sale times) of 30/35% on most brands, sometimes an additional 10% off as well. A 50ml bottle of my favourite perfume was €60 there, and is 81 pounds in the UK (they don't sell it in Boots but that's the price on the House of Fraser website). That price is because HoF have a promotion on perfumes at the moment, the usual price is 110 pounds.

I haven't been to the UK for over 2 years now but the last time I was there I did think some items in the supermarket seemed very cheap (and some didn't). Of course there is a lot more choice there but my shopping habits have changed over the time I've lived here and I cook from scratch much more now than I did when I lived in the UK so I would now not be buying the kind of ready meals I did then. I pass by the whole aisles devoted to crisps and snacks, biscuits and sweets too. The fish counter in Mercadona is way better than anything I've seen in a British supermarket, I read that Tesco had closed all their fresh fish counters.

Loafing Along

Interesting analysis on just one part of cost of living , also must think about utility costs and fuel , both particularly sensitive issues at the moment. I personally like the direct approach of the Spanish government on fuel costs - one sees the discount when you pay , unlike UK where the Spring Statement tax reduction seems to have disappeared or even failed to get to the pumps.

missile

It was only my observation on my basket. I was surprised to find that all but one item was more expensive in Consum than in Sainsbury. Obviously a very small sample which may not reflect other people's basket. Many years back, I found supermarket food prices were significantly less than UK. IMHO this is no longer the case.

Please note; I am not drawing any conclusion on this very small sample and in any event there are many other reasons why I choose to be in Spain.

Longlegpete

We spend approximately 4 months a year in Spain on and off so regularly buy from Spanish supermarkets, normally Mercadona and the UK, normally Aldi and Tesco and 90% of our shop is more expensive in Spain than the UK and has been for at least 13 years.

Yes some things are cheaper, rice, oranges, alcohol, (although we hardly drink) spring to mind but not much else i can think of although there will be more, Olive oil is the same price in the UK for what i would say is the same quality but much is not and the price of much fruit and vegetables is often much higher, it doesn't bother me, it is what it is but Spain is not cheap for food shopping, yes it cheap for lots of other things but the OP is completely right in there observations imo

old.sparkles

Not sure how you arrived at that conclusion. From your list, and allowing £1=€1.20:
Swings and roundabouts.

Barriej

Since moving here (Aug 2020). We haven't noticed any 'real' differences in individual prices between what we used to spend in the Uk and what we now spend in Spain.

The main difference however is, we are eating less at meal times and more of the ingredients are fresher.
Obviously things like Heinz beans will be dearer (although Mendoza supermarkets have them for 90c a tin)
Tea bags (although again I prefer loose in a pot), Horse radish, Mint sauce are my only other, wont do withouts and they are dearer here and I expect that.

Bread we buy from Costa Blanca Supermarkets as they do a great range of Scandinavian breads and cakes (dutch ones as well) and the quality is better than UK or standard Spanish versions.
Fruit and veg wise, its actually nice to pick what I want. I was never happy with the M&S 4 apples all between 56 and 58mm in size. (and I worked in the food and packaging industry).
Local Spanish brandy for my coffee is cheaper than the own brand rubbish in the UK.

Ive just compared our food shops for May to July 2020 in the Uk with the same period here last year and the Uk was higher by around 40% (but we eat out more here than we did in the Uk, so thats maybe where the difference is).

I spent a couple of months in the middle of nowhere in Mexico the other year on a job and we managed to cook and eat for about a third of what we spent in the UK (but it was impossible to get Uk foodstuffs so ate what the locals did)

Comparisons are a good way to budget if you are preparing a move, but for a daily living basis for my 2c (1.6p) its actually more trouble than its worth.
We don't get friends to bring stuff over and I will be dammed if Im going to spend time walking around supermarkets, when and if we ever go back to the UK.

Now car parts for the Moke, another issue, my Dad is visiting next month and he has loads of little bits for me as they are too expensive here