Greek household basket: New products – Lent basket on the way

The announcement of an increase in the categories of products that make up the household basket reaching 60, from the current 51, is expected on Wednesday.

As the Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis, has stated in this regard, “in this way, we will be able to meet the needs of consumers who asked us for it and we will also put these [categories] under protection”.

According to information, beef will be added to the basket – which was temporarily included during the Christmas holidays – as well as a number of other products such as chocolates, long-life milk, more codes for cold meats and yellow cheeses, legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas) and soft drinks.

Three more baskets

Three more baskets are being prepared for specific periods of time (Lent, Easter and Toys) which will be made available to consumers gradually. As Mr. Georgiadis has clarified in the previous days, “from the beginning of Lent we will have the Lenten basket and as soon as we enter Holy Week we will have the Easter basket”.

The Lenten basket, which is also expected to be announced today, Wednesday, as Deputy Development Minister Nikos Papathanasis has already announced, will include 4-5 products. “It will contain vegan goods, roe, halva, things we buy during Lent. It was successful during the holidays. We are doing it now for Lent. It will keep prices stable,” he stressed.

This will be followed by the basket that will include candles and toys for the children modeled after the basket of Santa Claus, while on the Wednesday before Holy Week, according to information, the Easter basket is expected, which will contain items for the festive table.

According to the Minister of Development, “64% of consumers buy and search for products from the household basket. The household basket has gained a very large share of the daily market in supermarkets. Because whoever buys from the basket earns money. The basket has kept many industries from making new increases for fear of losing customers, and has led them to make many new offers. If you add the basket and the shopping card together, the monthly benefit for shopping is more than 100 euros.”

Average spending increased

However, despite the savings, as the political leadership of the Ministry of Development claims, by utilizing the household basket, at the same time the 18th annual survey of the Athens University of Economics, which records the change in the consumer behavior of Greeks in the supermarket, reveals that the average monthly spend is estimated at €324, up from €255 last year, with 82.3% of consumers spending up to €400 per month. The increase in expenditure comes mainly from price increases, which in this particular sector are much higher than the general consumer price index.

Furthermore, the price increases led consumers to more conservative purchases and to a shift towards Greek products. Despite conservative purchases, costs have risen due to accuracy, which is one of the biggest issues clouding consumer expectations for the future.