Spanish food prices v UK

[gilesc]

We are moving to Nerja in the Autumn and are busy with our budgets. My husband even has a spreadsheet!
We are wondering about general price differentials between Spain and the UK.
We don't eat processed food, cook from scratch and we think we eat quite healthily. In UK we tend to go for either lamb or chicken for any meat dishes and we eat lots of fruit and veg and pulses etc.
Are Spanish prices lower, higher, or generally the same as UK in general?
Carolyn

[oliveview01]

Lamb is expensive here, chicken cheap, pork is reasonable too. We have not lived in the UK for aprox 7 years now so it is hard to compare. We had family visit last month and they commented on how much cheaper the food is here.

If you have a look at: www.mercadona.es you can buy on-line you will be able to see for yourself the prices. At this time of the year the local green grocers are much better value with local fresh fruit/veg

[alisonb]

http://www.spain-holiday.com/blog/shop- ... s-tips.php
I read something like this over the weekend, but can't remember where.
http://ordinaryandoddinary.wordpress.co ... mercadona/. This is not exactly what you're looking for as it compares Morrisons in Gib to Mercadona, but I suspect UK and Gib prices are not too far adrift.

The things which are really expensive here seem to be wood (for joinery, not burning), car parts and CDs/DVDs. Unless you want to eat lots of imported food, you certainly won't spend any more here on supermarket shopping than in UK. I used to bring over John Frieda shampoo. It is now £5.95 in UK and 6.05 in Eroski.

[Footprint]

Spending time here and in the UK I can say that food in the UK is more expensive - particularly meat. What I have found expensive here are building materials.

[gilesc]

Many thanks Alison and Olive. Your responses have been very helpful
Carolyn

[katy]

Have a read at the forum and you will see many say that prices haven risen for 7 years. They did where I lived, we must have lived in a bubble. Comparing with Mercadona will be your best way forward.

[Julie]

We spend 6 months in either place, I personally find Spain more exspensive, and I do buy local produce, but we all have different opinions.

[Free at Last]

Have a read at the forum and you will see many say that prices haven risen for 7 years. They did where I lived, we must have lived in a bubble. Comparing with Mercadona will be your best way forward.

I think what a number of people (including me) actually said was that whilst the price of some items had risen, the cost of others has gone down and therefore we are not spending any more overall - in my case over six years not 7. I noticed another example of this last week - the brand of coffee we buy had gone up by 0.25€, whilst the wine my OH normally buys had gone down by 0.40€ (and a lot more bottles of wine are bought than jars of coffee!). It happens all the time. Also, as Alisonb pointed out, some items have become available to buy in Spain now that we used to buy in the UK and bring back, and we pay less in Spain than the UK price. What you don't see in Spanish supermarkets, though, are the BOGOFs and 3 for 2 offers that can save you money in UK supermarkets, although they can sometimes tempt you to buy stuff you don't need.

The effects of the rise in IVA from the start of next month on everybody's spending remain to be assessed, of course. For those who receive their income in sterling the improved exchange rate since last year may more than offset this.

For the OP, the biggest difference in cost/quality of shopping in Spain as opposed to the UK is in clothing, IMO. Shoes are fine, but I find clothes here either cheap and poorly made in nasty fabrics, or expensive compared to the UK. Most of the styles on offer are too gaudy and over-trimmed for my taste as well (think frills, sequins, embroidery, artificial flower decorations - sometimes all on the same garment ). You don't find the same "designer outlet" stores here as in the UK, either.

[gilesc]

Hello Free At Last, and all,
Your remark re clothes made me laugh. I take your point completely!!!
Many thanks for your info
Carolyn

[katy]

For the OP, the biggest difference in cost/quality of shopping in Spain as opposed to the UK is in clothing, IMO. Shoes are fine, but I find clothes here either cheap and poorly made in nasty fabrics, or expensive compared to the UK. Most of the styles on offer are too gaudy and over-trimmed for my taste as well (think frills, sequins, embroidery, artificial flower decorations - sometimes all on the same garment ). You don't find the same "designer outlet" stores here as in the UK, either.

Generally agree about the clothes, most of the shoes too unless very expensive. Most clothes seem to cater for under 17's or over 60's. Strangely though some of my best buys have been a few bits from Zara including a chanel type jacket, a linen shift dress from Alcampo 10€ and last year I bought a good quality short trench coat, nice pinky beige lining. Was in Winchester but when I looked at cleaning instructions it said made in Madrid

[Wicksey]

We don't eat processed food, cook from scratch and we think we eat quite healthily. In UK we tend to go for either lamb or chicken for any meat dishes and we eat lots of fruit and veg and pulses etc.
Carolyn

That is the secret here, to cook things from scratch. If you were someone that wanted 'ready meals' or lots of UK brands then it would be expensive. Mercadona is our favourite shop and we find the majority of their own bands good quality. Lamb is expensive here so we rarely buy it, and we only buy the 'free range' type of chicken from Mercadona or Eroski, so they are more expensive. Lidl also is pretty good, their cheeses particularly.

For veg, look out for the little shops in garages and people selling it from their doorsteps in Nerja. There are a couple of little grocers in Torrox that sell local produce - currently you can get 3kgs of tomatoes for a euro! We stick to what is in season as well. We also eat a lot of pulses and buy the large jars of chick peas and lentils for the storecupboard which are very cheap here. We don't often eat out and according to my own spreadsheet of expenses we spend on average about 70€ a week on shopping including other goods like washing powder etc. Our bill is often only 50€ or 60€ from the supermarket but I do add in all the other bits and pieces we buy separately, which does add up over the week.

From visits to the UK it is noticeable how many offers there are all the time and also the chance of buying half price food when it is close to the sell-by date. I have seen staff leave Eroski on the Costa with a trolley loaded up with foodstuffs and throw it all in the nearby rubbish bins. Ditto Supersol. We had a peak in the bin and it was full of Tropicana orange juice cartons. What a dreadful waste. I can't understand why they don't offer them for sale at a reduced price rather than throw it all in the bin.

[Free at Last]

[

Generally agree about the clothes, most of the shoes too unless very expensive. Most clothes seem to cater for under 17's or over 60's. Strangely though some of my best buys have been a few bits from Zara including a chanel type jacket, a linen shift dress from Alcampo 10€ and last year I bought a good quality short trench coat, nice pinky beige lining. Was in Winchester but when I looked at cleaning instructions it said made in Madrid

Yes, you can find the odd bargain here and there, but quite a rarity. We have a Tutto Tiempo shop here now (all items 10€ each no matter whether it's an evening dress or a bikini) and I bought a good quality cotton blouse there a few weeks ago. It came with the ubiquitous fabric flower attached (and even the flower was trimmed with braid, why have one type of decoration when you can have a dozen) but luckily it was only pinned on so I took it off and threw it away. There is one shop in Torre del Mar (and they have a branch in Nerja too, on Calle El Barrio if the OP is interested) called Pomodoro where I have bought quite a few summer things as they sell mainly lightweight cottons and linens, ideal for this weather, although they are not cheap. I bought a skirt from there last week, 33€ and that was half price - at pre-sale prices I think 66€ is expensive for a simple cotton skirt. But finding decent quality winter clothes is a nightmare.

Strangely, I think the men's clothing available here is much nicer, lots of good lightweight wool sweaters and nice shirts in good quality cotton. I've even resorted to visiting children's shops where I've been able to buy boys' cotton sweaters and t-shirts which are cheaper and better quality than what is available in the womenswear shops, as the ones for 12 year olds fit me well. The things you have to do!

[Wicksey]

There is one shop in Torre del Mar (and they have a branch in Nerja too, on Calle El Barrio if the OP is interested) called Pomodoro where I have bought quite a few summer things as they sell mainly lightweight cottons and linens, ideal for this weather, although they are not cheap. I bought a skirt from there last week, 33€ and that was half price - at pre-sale prices I think 66€ is expensive for a simple cotton skirt. But finding decent quality winter clothes is a nightmare.

I only go into Pomodoro when the sales are on as well. Sometimes they go down to 70% off but generally I find them overpriced otherwise. Last year I bought a very simple strappy cotton dress reduced from 56€ to 15€ which was really all it was worth. It is about the only place I've found that type of thing here, and I am finding that Dunnes in Velez Malaga is really only good for tee shirts and cozzies most of the time. They rarely have decent summer dresses in there and a lot of their things are very nylon-y which isn't very nice in this heat . Their sizing is odd as well ... I have bought everything from size 8 to size 14 (usually size 12) and the men's is the same with my usually 'medium sized' OH having to go to XL sometimes.

[Free at Last]

I only go into Pomodoro when the sales are on as well. Sometimes they go down to 70% off but generally I find them overpriced otherwise. Last year I bought a very simple strappy cotton dress reduced from 56€ to 15€ which was really all it was worth. It is about the only place I've found that type of thing here, and I am finding that Dunnes in Velez Malaga is really only good for tee shirts and cozzies most of the time. They rarely have decent summer dresses in there and a lot of their things are very nylon-y which isn't very nice in this heat . Their sizing is odd as well ... I have bought everything from size 8 to size 14 (usually size 12) and the men's is the same with my usually 'medium sized' OH having to go to XL sometimes.

I can't believe how much of the women's clothing on sale in Spain is made from man made fabrics, it's the worst thing possible for this climate. A few years ago I used to buy T-shirts and cable knit cotton sweaters from Dunnes, but all their knitwear is now acrylic (ugh) and the T-shirts are very poor quality and strangely long in the body which I don't like. If you are normally a size 12 I recommend looking in the children's section (I have bought some good sleeveless crew neck T shirts from the boys' section in both Dunnes and H&M in Malaga. The girls' ones tend to come in awful colours like sickly pink and purple). There is also a children's shop quite close to the entrance of Dunnes in the El Ingenio section where I have bought T-shirts and jumpers. The sizes from 12-14 years are usually fine.

[Dr1Gonzo]

UK is a rip off for almost anything.
You can get some cheaper electronics and stuff from online shops if you need to but often locally they have good items, just not many customers..probably cos everyone goes to the online shops
The supermarkets in the UK are providing worse and worse quality stuff for ever inflated prices.

Only thing I can't understand in Mercadona, is why they get their almonds from California (bearing in mind the huge almond region in Spain) and why much of their fish is from South America.

[katy]

The supermarkets in the UK are providing worse and worse quality stuff for ever inflated prices.

Don't agree. Quality and choice is superb compared with Spain. Holland and France has better quality too. Faster turnover and quality control ensures it is first class.

[Nimrod]

Have to agree with Katy there.
I find it hard to buy quality items in Spain and when I do most of the time they're dearer than uk.
I have to search for quality in Spain,in UK it's not difficult.
Also the Spanish mentality of pushing prices up as demand decreases defies the law of economics.

[frank]

Only thing I can't understand in Mercadona, is why they get their almonds from California (bearing in mind the huge almond region in Spain) and why much of their fish is from South America.

I'm only amazed they don't just label it as Spanish, that's what they do with so many other foodstuffs, from fish, vegetables, and the most blatant, saffron. They actually grow 1.500 kilos of saffron, but export 190.000 kilos labelled as Spanish saffron!. It's cheap imported rubbish and rebranded as Spanish, only .8% is from La Mancha The chances of you buying Spanish saffron and it being Spanish are very slim.
http://tinyurl.com/coxlyxn
Supposedly some of the best asparagus, artichoke, peppers etc come from Navarra, but although they are packaged there they come from places like China and Peru, but of course it doesn't say that. Rip off Britain?

Por ejemplo, todo el que guste comer espárragos, alcachofas o pimientos en conseva sabrá que los de mayor reputación son los de navarra, existe una denominación de origen que ampara cada uno de estos productos, pero en realidad la mayoría de los enlatados que se venden como navarros carecen del sello de denominación o indicación geográfica protegida y proceden de paises como China o Perú.

[crazyred]

Make friends with neighbours who have their own patch of land and grow their own fruit and veg. I get produce given to me and it tastes so much better than anything you will buy in the shops. My kids went to help on someone's land last week and came back with a crate full of tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and a big pumpkin. I often get oranges, lemons & pomegranates too. I had so many tomatoes that I managed to make 2 litres of Triturado, a couple of jars of sun dried tomatoes and had plenty left for salads

[olive]

Only thing I can't understand in Mercadona, is why they get their almonds from California (bearing in mind the huge almond region in Spain) and why much of their fish is from South America.

Maybe the almoinds and walnuts from California have been irrigated and have better flavour?
Fish. The Spanish have a giant fleet of trawlers operating all over the world emptying the seas of fish - it isn't just South America

grow their own fruit and veg. I get produce given to me and it tastes so much better than anything you will buy in the shops. It won't be cheaper but the rubbish you buy in the shops especially supermarkets is tasteless. Not surprising really. Everyone who eats fruit and veg grown in the ocean of plastic greenhouses in Almeria etc ought to go and have a look at how the stuff is grown and harvested.