Sooner or later I had to talk about the B word. Let's go with it!
It is commonly accepted that prices in the UK, in general, are higher than in Spain. Salaries too, but in general it is assumed that the cost of living is more expensive in the UK.
In general this is so, but there are some products that are way cheaper in the UK than in Spain and the differences are quite noticeable. One of the ones I find more surprising is the milk.
It so happens that milk is cheaper in the UK. Depending on the size of the bottle the price varies, the bigger the bottle the cheaper the litre, but in general lets assume that the average price is 44 pennies. Today, after the pound has plummetted thanks to Boris Johnson, we can assume the price is the same in euros, but, assuming a normal situation when the pound is about 1.10 euros, to round it up, I'll assume 48p per litre.
This very same litre of fresh mik in Spain costs around 1.13 euros per litre. This is the cheapest price I've found in all the supermarkets checked, so I'll use it as a reference price. I insist: 1.13 euros, More than double the price in the UK! And in a country where the cost of living is supposed to be way higher than in Spain!
Even more, in Spain, the pausterized litre of milk, the famous "brick" format, which it is supposed to be of lower quality and hence is cheaper than fresh milk, in Spain costs around €0.58, More expensive than fresh milk in the UK!
How is this possible? This is the big question here. And sadly I have not reached any valid conclussion. My initial thesis when I started this article was that the difference was due to the production quotas or limits imposed by the EU to Spain and so I'd then ellaborate that the UK has no real reason to leave the EU, at least this one would not be a motive for the UK but for Spain.
It is commonly accepted that prices in the UK, in general, are higher than in Spain. Salaries too, but in general it is assumed that the cost of living is more expensive in the UK.
In general this is so, but there are some products that are way cheaper in the UK than in Spain and the differences are quite noticeable. One of the ones I find more surprising is the milk.
It so happens that milk is cheaper in the UK. Depending on the size of the bottle the price varies, the bigger the bottle the cheaper the litre, but in general lets assume that the average price is 44 pennies. Today, after the pound has plummetted thanks to Boris Johnson, we can assume the price is the same in euros, but, assuming a normal situation when the pound is about 1.10 euros, to round it up, I'll assume 48p per litre.
This very same litre of fresh mik in Spain costs around 1.13 euros per litre. This is the cheapest price I've found in all the supermarkets checked, so I'll use it as a reference price. I insist: 1.13 euros, More than double the price in the UK! And in a country where the cost of living is supposed to be way higher than in Spain!
Even more, in Spain, the pausterized litre of milk, the famous "brick" format, which it is supposed to be of lower quality and hence is cheaper than fresh milk, in Spain costs around €0.58, More expensive than fresh milk in the UK!
How is this possible? This is the big question here. And sadly I have not reached any valid conclussion. My initial thesis when I started this article was that the difference was due to the production quotas or limits imposed by the EU to Spain and so I'd then ellaborate that the UK has no real reason to leave the EU, at least this one would not be a motive for the UK but for Spain.
However, my hypothesis proved to be false as since 2015 there are no limits to the production of milk in Spain and so the sector can produce as much milk as they want, what in theory should benefit the consumers as prices should go down thank to the competence among the producers.
Then, why the price is so high in comparison to other places like the UK? In addition to this, the milk producers are constantly complaining of the low prices they are paid for the milk, as it seems that they should charge a minimum of €0.33/0.34 per litre to make it a profitable business. Keep in mind that in the UK the price is £0.44 per litre, final price, not producer price. Maybe in the UK the margin for the farmers is greater as they don't need to buy grass to feed the cows, but I don't think there is so much difference at the end of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment