WHILE European households spend on average 15 percent of their income on food, Slovak households spend approximately 20 percent. However, this amount has decreased for Slovaks by 5 percentage points since the late 1990s.
The main reason for this trend is probably an increase in incomes among Slovak households, which are able to spend more on services and luxury goods. However, the share of food in Slovaks’ shopping carts has not changed significantly in the last 10 years, according to the Sme daily, citing Eurostat data.
The share of money spent on food dropped also due to the rising cost of utilities in the years since 1999, which households have had to adapt to by decreasing other expenses, Tatra Banka analyst Juraj Valachy told Sme.
In comparison with other European countries, people in Slovakia generally buy more bread, meat, milk and eggs, and are less interested in purchasing fish, fruit and vegetables. Slovaks also spend more money on chocolate, apples and bananas. Potatoes, tomatoes and peppers still dominate the vegetable chart, but customers buy tomatoes more than potatoes. They also buy rice, dark bread and beef in higher volumes than 10 years ago.
Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
