Irish prices for food, drink and tobacco, were 18 per cent above the EU average in 2012, according to data published this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In 2012, the price level of the same basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive in Europen than in the cheapest one.

Denmark had the highest price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages across Europe in 2012, followed by Sweden, Austria, Finland, Ireland and Luxembourg. The lowest price levels were observed in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

The price levels for alcoholic beverages ranged from one to more than two and a half. The lowest price levels for alcoholic beverages were registered in Bulgaria and  Romania, and the highest in Finland and Ireland.

For tobacco, the price levels were almost four times higher in the most expensive member state than in the cheapest. The lowest price levels were observed in Hungary and the highest in Ireland.

These are some of the results of the most recent survey on food, beverages and tobacco, carried out in 2012 within the Eurostat-OECD Purchasing Power Parities Programme. The survey covered approximately 500 items. A total of 37 countries participated in the survey.

Ireland’s price levels for all seven of the main categories of food, beverages and tobacco were above the EU average in 2012.

The level of difference ranged from 10 per cent above the average for meat and bread and cereals to nearly double the average in the case of tobacco.

For the remaining categories price levels in Ireland were higher than the EU average by 62 per cent in the case of alcohol, 38 per cent for fruit, vegetables and potatoes, 31 per cent for non-alcoholic beverages and 19 per cent for milk, cheese and eggs.

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