Greek food spending, consumption shows notable changes from 2009 to 2022

Greek consumers raised their spending on basic carbohydrates like bread (12%) and drastically lowered that in dairy products like milk (30%) and vegetables (43%) from 2009 to 2022, said a research study by the Institute for Research on Consumer Goods Retailing (IELKA) released on Wednesday.

According to the research report, which only examines shopping for food (vs eating out), the per capita expenditure on food from 2009 to 2022 dropped by 5.8% at 1,825 euros in 2022 compared to 2009, the year before the start of the first fiscal crisis in Greece. 

The overall household food expenditure for the same period rose by 3.10%, which IELKA attributed to price rises and a reduction in volume of items shopped. Based on this data, it assessed that the total spending by Greek householders for food in 2022 was 20.28 billion euros (compared to 22.10 bln in 2009). 

Other examples of changes in spending from 2009 to 2022 it include were the following:

• Bread and bread products, spending rose 12% 
• Protein sources, an 18% drop in spending for beef, and 40% drop for sheet and goat meat
• Olive oil, a drop of spending by 17%
•  Fruit and vegetables, a 7% drop in spending for the former and 43% for the latter
• Legumes and nuts, a 44% rise in spending for the former and a rise of 48% in the latter
• Drinks: spending for non-alcohol beverages dropped 9% but for alcoholic beverages it rose by 68%

Besides annual changes, the report also provided average monthly consumption of certain food categories from 2009. Specifically,

• Bread and bread product consumption dropped nearly 6% to 4 kilos per month
• Red meat consumption dropped nearly 16% per month (to 1 kg less), except for chicken (a rise)
• Plant protein and legumes in particular also registered a rise in consumption per month
• Fresh milk consumption per month dropped by 41% (except for low-fat milk), there was no drop in egg consumption, and olive oil consumption per month dropped to 30%. Fresh fruit and vegetable consumption also dropped, which IELKA attributed to wasteful spending in the 2000s decade. In addition, non-alcoholic beverage consumption dropped by 1 lt per capita per month; alcoholic beverage consumption rose per month, but this reflected a preference for consumption at home rather than venues outside.

The greatest hikes in average prices paid by consumers in 2022 compared to 2009 were registered in nuts (61%), lettuce (64%), and coffee (54%). The greatest drops in average prices paid were in milk with a long shelf life (-18%), sparkling water (-30%), and chicken (-4%).

IELKA also noted a drop in purchasing of households in rural areas directly from farmers, except for specific products such as olive oil.

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