spainrico

I did a 'big shop' in Mercadona this morning and unlike them (never been big discounters meaning you don't need a degree in economics unlike Carrefour who must deserve an award for designing some of the most complicated deals known to man and woman) they actually have some price reductions notably on meat, fruit and veg...OK not massive but every little helps as they say...

Question. Out of the central EU countries where do you think would be the most expensive to buy food? I would probably have answered the country this BBC/Oxford Economics survey says is the cheapest!

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65833619

Happy shopping.

Lynn R

I noticed this morning in Mercadona that cooked langostinos were down in price by €0.55 per kg. The frozen salmon fillets I buy had gone up to €6.35 (a hell of an increase from what they used to be) and are now €6.20, a move in the right direction but still a lot more expensive than before (however the price in Lidl per kg was exactly the same, I haven't been in there recently to see if theirs are a bit cheaper now as well). Sunflower oil was down to €1.75 this morning from €1.85 and their own brand mayonnaise is now €1.25 down from €1.35. Milk and pasta are a few cents cheaper than they were following the reduction in IVA, but not enough to be noticeable. One odd thing is that Heinz baked beans had come down in price from €1.75 to €1.50, but I have given up buying them anyway as I found another brand I preferred (Branston). The price of olive oil, however, continues to go up and up, mainly due to poor harvests because of the drought and there is no sign of that changing any time soon. Fruit and vegetables fluctuate in price all the time, but generally the fruterias or the mercadillos are cheaper than the supermarkets.

I've read the reports in the press this week about the French Government having reached an agreement with 75 food companies to bring their prices down as the Government pointed out that the prices of a lot of commodities had come down but prices in the shops were not following suit. Hopefully other Governments will follow their example.

France strong-arms big food companies into cutting prices | Reuters

bobd22

Funny we mentioned yesterday after doing some shopping that it seemed a bit better. Last year we visited UK and I was shocked at prices in supermarkets compared to here. After initial shock I did say to the wife that I thought meat prices were better generally in UK. I saw that BBC comparison and to be honest some of the Spanish prices I though seemed high to what we pay. We do tend to shop Mercadona and Lidl to be fair and I suppose it depends what supermarkets were used . Generally though inflation will stabilise rather costs reduce it will be more that costs won't increase as much. Certain things will fluctuate seasonally etc . As for Heinz beans yes they went silly but I believe Heinz products in UK went very high, maybe they are reducing prices as consumers just went elsewhere to buy beans etc. Lynn where do you get the Branston beans? as I prefer them to Heinz.

Lynn R

From Russells in Torrox Costa, they are €1.10. I had an order delivered from them last week (not just baked beans obviously!) as, not having a car, it is easier for us to wait until we want a fair amount of stuff and get it delivered to the door. What I used to get from Morrisons in Gibraltar when I would take one of the coach trips run by local organisations, I now get from them and although their prices are a lot higher I would have spent around €50 each time by the time I'd paid for the trip, refreshments en route and lunch in Gib, so it balances out. And I wasn't fond of Gibraltar as a destination for a day out anyway.

When I was in the UK in March I made the mistake of buying a box of 12 Oxo cubes in Tesco, thinking they'd be cheaper than Russells. They cost 2.50 (because I don't have a Clubcard, I hate this dual pricing they are doing now and more and more of the UK supermarkets are doing it) but with a Clubcard would have been 1.90 which is still a lot. Russells were quite a bit cheaper than what I paid, won't be doing that again. When I shop in the UK I find some things cheaper than they are here, and some more expensive.

I find potatoes expensive here. The big sacks in the fruterias are cheap, so no doubt good for a family, but we would never use that many before they were sprouting so we only buy a few at a time.

Ha! The Oxo cubes are 2.40 on the Tesco website now and €2.99 in Russells so maybe I did save a few pennies after all.

bobd22

I missed them then I was in Russels during the week. We don't get a great deal but I get the odd craving for something now and again. I will look out for the beans next time as I find them much nicer than Heinz. You mention potatoes it always surprises me how some vegetables are quite expensive in Spain and not always a great vegetable choice for our British taste. That said it is Spain lol. Generally I think our shopping bill here in Spain is a good bit less than UK . But it is swings and roundabouts as they say. Thanks for the info

Notdunroamin

£5.40 for a bl00dy pint of Guinness in UK, £3 or €3.50 give or take in Spain.

Lynn R

To be honest I think the main reason why our food shopping bill is less here in Spain is because there is less in the shops by way of good quality ready meals (which are always a lot more expensive than cooking from scratch), prepared salads, decent cakes, etc. to tempt us. From my last trip to the UK I brought back some quiches from M&S which were undoubtedly expensive, but much nicer than anything on offer here (and they froze really well). But I would probably be a lot heavier than I am if I lived there and ate like that all the time!

bobd22

That's true re ready meals etc. I get the odd craving for a good pork pie or steak pie.

Lynn R

A glass of wine is even worse. 6.25 for a 250 ml glass of Spanish Verdejo in Manchester (the cheapest option on the wine list in a pub). I had one in a nice bar in Torre del Mar a few days ago, €1.70 and the measure was at least 250 ml. It only went up from €1.50, which it had been for ages, at Easter this year. We took my husband's children and their partners there in April and they could not believe how little a round of drinks cost.

There was the occasional good deal in the UK though. One day I had a cream tea consisting of a large sultana scone (served warm) with butter, a mini jar of Tiptree jam and a dish of clotted cream (so much I could only eat half of it) and a pot of tea that easily made two cups - 5.50 which seemed an absolute steal.

rbs_gb

Mercadona is one of those "marmite" companies in Spain, and if you want to start an argument in a bar its always an easy starting point! We use them and also Lupa who seem to have much better quality meat counter using local products without going off the scale on price. Mercadonas Arribeño Rueda Verdejo is amazaing value for money!. The main issue for us with Aldi and Lidl if you don´t use them regularly is working out what the brands are this week and taking a punt if it is something you like or don´t like.

Up here, grow your own is the usual thing and most folks dedicate a bit of the land to an allotment. We get a lot from "El Huerto", "El Gallinero" and "El Jardin". We grow all our own potatoes, green beans, runner beans, peas, peppers, onions, leeks, cauliflowers, lettuce and beef tomatoes. There are so many tomatoes that we usually end up spending an afternoon just making tomato cooking sauces and that usually lasts for 12 months. We have ten chickens, and with just two of us, that is a massive overproduction of eggs, so the eggs get involved in a bit of bartering (trueque it's called here) with one of the locals that makes their own chorizo sausage. Our tortilla de patatas really is "casera" even down to the ingredients and oil apart, a zero km product. We have lemon trees, orange trees, kiwis, walnuts and also a lot of kaki (persimmon) fruits. They are way too sweet for my taste, but one of the neighbours usually turns it all into jam and we get half back.







We don't claim any green credentials, just that it has always been part of the family way of doing things. The only downside as we get older is the iboprufen backgel consumption is on the rise!!

spainrico

Going to admit to one of the 7 deadly sins - envy!

Marvellous fresh produce - well done you and fresh eggs!

rbs_gb

Thank you. I don´t know what we will eventually die of, but pretty sure it won´t be hunger!

bobd22

That looks great all be it a lot of hard work but can't beat proper fruit and veg.

rbs_gb

It can be physical, no question, but hey, we don´t need a gym membership! One problem is you get a lot of product in large quantities as you collect it, which is impossible to use. You can see how many potatoes are in a small crop of about 4 square metres. When the beans are in season, it´s easy to fill a 20 litre bucket every day for weeks. Fortunately, there is usually a neighbour who has their own production of something else, so we do swaps with someone that has courgettes, carrots, aubergines etc

spainrico

Very Spanish!