News: Spain's cheapest holiday destination for groceries

According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Spain is the cheapest in the five holiday countries surveyed when shopping.

In Spain, food prices are 4% lower than the European Union average. In the Netherlands these prices are 1.1% above this average.

As it is a Dutch study based on Eurostat figures for 2018 prices and the holiday countries France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria have been examined, Belgium does not appear on this comparison list.

According to the CBS survey, food prices are higher in four of the five countries than in the Netherlands. Only in Spain is food cheaper in the top five summer holiday destinations of Dutch people.

Food prices in France are more than 16% higher than the EU average. In Austria, the fifth holiday destination on this list, food prices are almost 27% above the EU average.

Examples

In Austria, barbecuing costs 45% more than the European average, while in France it is 30% more expensive. Meat is the lowest priced in Spain, followed by Germany and Italy.

Potatoes, vegetables and fruit are a fraction more expensive in France than in Austria, almost 27% above the European average. In Italy and Germany the prices are 7% and 5% higher than that average, in Spain the prices are 1.1% below that. In the Netherlands these prices are slightly above the EU average with 2.2%.

The price differences for drinks are more moderate. Outliers are Austria, where non-alcoholic drinks are 13% above the EU average, and Spain and Germany. Alcoholic beverages are 16% and 11% below the EU average respectively.

In France, apart from food, hotels and restaurants are priced higher than the average in the European Union. The prices for hotels and restaurants are 18% higher. Hotels and restaurants are the cheapest in Spain.