Nine in 10 believe Irish food and drink prices are too expensive
Nine out of 10 people believe Ireland is an expensive place to buy both food and drink.
This is according to a new survey of 1,001 Irish adults, in response to a recent study which said that Ireland is the fourth most expensive country in the world for food and non-alcoholic drinks, and the second most expensive for alcohol.
The survey found the top three food/drink categories that consumers said are too expensive are:
- Alcohol (75%),
- Meat (62%),
- Fruits/Vegetables (36%)
While the most regularly bought categories are:
- Fruits/Vegetables (69%),
- Meat (54%),
- Breads/Cereals (53%).
Further findings show that men (23%) are twice as likely to frequently buy alcohol than women (11%).
Four in five women (78%) regularly buy fruit and veg but only three in five men (60%) do similar.
On average, Irish people spend €182 per person every month on groceries.
Broken down by age, the average grocery spend per person is as follows:
- - €165
- - €188
- - €192
According to the research, if food and drink was not so expensive, Irish people would spend their money on; savings (61%), holidays (56%), and home improvements (42%).
When asked about their methods for keeping costs down during grocery shops, people said; shopping at cheaper stores (60%), look for coupons/savings (49%) and buy in bulk (47%).
Three in five (65%) Irish people say that laws should be in place to lower the costs.
