Around a decade ago.....after travels to Denmark, Italy, and the Netherlands in a two-year period....I came to this reality....groceries are generally cheaper in Germany. My German wife was shocked that it took that long of time for me to realize this, and had been thinking this for 20-odd years prior to that.
So is the price difference 'big'? On various products....like dairy, pork, and regional fruit/vegetables....I'd say it's around 20-percent cheaper. In fact, if I went to the discount grocery, and looked for the cheapest beer possible....I'd pay roughly a quarter Euro per beer (the can deposit would be the equal value of the beer cost itself). Yes, it'd actually be cheaper than a can of Pepsi or Dr Pepper.
Why the difference? Taxes are added to some degree, but some analysts would say that farm programs exist to aid farmers financially, and the market can procure German-made goods for a lesser price.
Last night, on ARD (public TV, Channel One), the show Maischberger came on. The topics? Well, it went into a wide variety....German troops in Africa, the economic forum, and then finally came out to the discussion of groceries being 'too cheap'.
Yes.....the discussion went to the idea that you need to cut the subsidiary market, put steps into place where grocery prices move up, and dampen German consumer confidence for a year or two.
Acceptance of this movement? If you were wanting something to get consumers peeved.....this is the right move.
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