Grocers: Food cheap relative to general price level
Foodstuffs in Finland are relatively inexpensive if the effect of value-added tax (VAT) is not taken into account. According to a survey commissioned by the Finnish Grocery Trade Association, even including VAT, food prices are slightly below the European average.
The survey carried out by accountancy giant Ernst & Young shows that food accounts for about 13 percent of household spending in Finland. The amount of money spent on foodstuffs has remained more or less steady for over a decade.
The VAT on foodstuffs in Finland is 13 percent. The European average is 8 percent.
In a comparison of 15 European countries, it was found that the rise in the price of foodstuffs in Finland from 2005 to 2010 was lower than average.
The survey was based on publicly available sources, mostly data published by Eurostat, and compared prices in the so-called "old" EU member countries.
