An average basket of comparable grocery items is 4.3 per cent cheaper in Ireland than in six other EU states, according to a survey published yesterday.
The survey, by the grocers' group RGDATA, was based on 35 common grocery products in major food outlets in seven EU states. The average cost of the Irish basket of goods was €47.92, while the average cost of the European basket was €49.97.
Ms Ailish Forde, RGDATA director general, said this proved that consumers in this State were not being ripped-off.
She was referring to another survey published on Tuesday which showed that a Superquinn outlet in Dublin charged 23 per cent more for a basket of shopping than the Casino supermarket in the exclusive St Tropez resort in France.
The survey by on-line newsletter Retail Intelligence looked at 40 grocery and drink items in Superquinn, Blackrock, and the Casino outlet in St Tropez. Almost 90 per cent of the products were cheaper in the south of France outlet. Ambre Solaire sun protection milk was €13.19 in Ireland, but just €7.02 in St Tropez, according to the survey. Even a 500g can of Guinness was 77 cents more expensive in Ireland than in France.
Only onions, Kit Kats and a leg of lamb were significantly cheaper in Ireland.
However, RGDATA said the survey was "simplistic and misleading and aimed at achieving headlines rather than achieving accuracy".
Ms Forde said price surveys of groceries throughout Europe were "meaningless" and simple comparisons could not be made across 15 member-states with more than 376 million consumers.
She pointed to seven reasons why price comparisons were inaccurate. Ireland had a much higher cost of supply and distribution of grocery goods because of its small economy and island status.
Another reason was that countries had different tax regimes and economic circumstances. Countries also had different consumer tastes and brand preferences.
In addition, many products found here could not be found in other countries. Sometimes products were grown or manufactured in certain states and this made them cheaper. She pointed out that some products were sold in different sizes and weights and there were also differences in quality.
The difficulties were highlighted by RGDATA's own survey, she said. In that survey, seven people visited major food outlets in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and Ireland, but found it was not possible to buy all 35 products in any country.
The country with the greatest similarity in product availability to Ireland was the UK, where the researchers were able to buy 30 products. France and Germany had the lowest number of the listed products (22).
Even where products were available,adjustments had to be made for different measurements and the difference in prominent brand leaders.
The Irish basket of goods was cheaper than the comparable basket of goods in all six countries. The biggest difference was between the Irish and the Dutch basket ( €4.34), while the German and Irish prices were closest (15 cents ).
The basket of goods purchased in France was €4.19 more than the equivalent basket purchased in Ireland. The survey included items such as Kellogg's Cornflakes, Coca Cola and Nutella.
"Even with such limited product availability, the results of the survey do not provide evidence to show that consumers in Ireland are being ripped off," Ms Forde said.
She rejected claims that the Groceries Order and Retail Planning Guidelines were contributing to higher food prices.
"The results of the RGDATA survey also show that claims of consumers being ripped off cannot be sustained merely on the basis of comparison of a rich man's shopping basket of high-value goods in St Tropez and Blackrock."
