In The EU: Bulgarians Spend The Most On Food After Romanians

Romanians and Bulgarians spend the largest part of their monthly income on food compared to the other countries in the European Union, with Romanians ranking first at 23.7 %, and Bulgarians following closely behind at second with 18.9%, indicate data from Eurostat for 2022, cited by the newspaper "Adevărul". Following are the citizens of Slovakia and Lithuania (18%), Estonia, and Latvia (17.7%). At the other end of the spectrum are the Irish (7%), the citizens of Luxembourg (8.2%), and those of Austria (8.9%).

According to the economic analyst Adrian Negrescu, Romanians spend almost a quarter of their income on products in grocery stores not because they buy more, but because prices are higher.

"The incomes of Romanians are lower than those in Western Europe. If we compare the price-to-wage ratio in Germany, for example, we would pay less for food if we had their wages", notes the expert for the newspaper "Adevărul". According to him, Romanians buy basic foods, and the best-selling products are items such as margarine, potatoes, and rice.

"According to Eurostat data, food accounts for over 14 percent of household expenses, which is generally the case in countries with average and low wage incomes. Moreover, these countries are members of the former communist bloc. And we cannot help but ask ourselves whether in certain cases, there isn't also some exaggerated consumerism, precisely because of the deprivations many of us endured during the communist regime. Deprivations that have been sealed into our DNA, into our memory, causing us trauma, and now we are trying to forget them by buying", comments sociologist Vladimir Ionash. He explains that Romanians strive to obtain the things they didn't have in the past, with a primary...