Paphos Life

The latest price observatory of big supermarkets in all districts has revealed significant fluctuations in the total price of a basket of goods – ranging as high as €50 in Nicosia and Larnaca but under €10 in the free Famagusta area.

The price observatory is publicised by the Consumer Protection Service following a survey of retail prices at large supermarkets in all districts. The survey applies to prices in force on July 16 and excludes products that were on special offer at any of the outlets.

Instead it uses bar codes in putting together a basket of the same products covering a total of 300 basic consumer goods

Each basket varies from district to district, with the service urging the public not to make comparisons between districts. It said its survey was a useful tool but should not replace consumers’ own checks depending on their needs and preferences nor does it aim to tell them where to shop.

In Nicosia, the survey covered a basket of 104 products. Athienitis emerged the cheapest at €302.36, followed by Ioannides at €323.21, Sklavenitis €327.02, Metro €332.02, Alpha Mega €336.80 and Debenhams €355.47.

In Limassol, Metro emerged the cheapest for a basket of 108 products at €356.83. Next came Sklavenitis at €364.95, Lysiotis €369.97, Alpha Mega €373.39, Papantoniou €377.31, Debenhams €390.02 and Papa €397.68.

In Larnaca, the cheapest for a basket of 103 goods was Stelios at €324.83, followed by Sklavenitis €361.48, Metro €363.67 and Alpha Mega €374.53.

In the Famagusta district a basket of 146 products will set you back €502.93 at Sklavenitis, €507.67 at Kokkinos and €511.34 at Metro.

Finally, in Paphos the survey covered 148 common products. Sklavenitis was the cheapest at €561.13, followed by Alpha Mega €590.71 and Papantoniou €596.98.

http://in-cyprus.com/news/local/the-che ... -district/

It is worth highlighting that the baskets vary from region to region. If you just glanced at the above figures you would assume Paphos is a rip-off.

What would be interesting would be a direct comparison between, say, a basket at Paphos Paps compared to the same basket at Nicosia Paps.

(supermarket, not bakers)

I didn't know Paps had a supermarket in Nicosia

Alpha Mega then.

Dominic wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:16 pm It is worth highlighting that the baskets vary from region to region. If you just glanced at the above figures you would assume Paphos is a rip-off.

What would be interesting would be a direct comparison between, say, a basket at Paphos Paps compared to the same basket at Nicosia Paps.

(supermarket, not bakers)

Must admit I had a quick scan and thought I would be better off driving down to Limassol when we are over. Then I read it properly and thought the comparison could have been so much better.

Unless they survey a list of common products across all supermarkets in all towns & exclude special offers being applied on the date of the survey then this is a meaningless set of figures! And we all know that the special offer prices are the real prices & that anything outside those represents excess profit for the retailer! Whichever supermarket you shop in, every few weeks/couple of months they rotate the same special offers!


Shane

I don't think anyone is going to travel to another city to buy their groceries. I am surprised that Paps was the dearest in the Paphos district.
But we choose where to shop as much for ease as for saving a few cents.. I know Smart shops are not classed as supermarkets but on the goods they sell, their prices are cheap.
I am also surprised that Lidl is not mentioned as they are island wide .

memory man wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:21 pm I didn't know Paps had a supermarket in Nicosia

I don't think they do

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 6:25 pm

trevnhil wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:27 pmI am also surprised that Lidl is not mentioned as they are island wide .

Yes, it makes you wonder whether Lidl was missed off by design, as they must be one of the largest supermarket groups in Cyprus. However, it may be because they only offer a very limited range of lines, making comparisons difficult.

Also, Lidl's own-label brands - and brand qualities - may not exactly match the Cypriot equivalent.

I don't agree many times with your posts Lloyd, but concerning Lidl you are right that they are by far the largest supermarket group in Cyprus.
Their own label brands, specially when it comes to food, buying their products like sausages, hams, cheeses ( I can only speak of German brands)
from medium sized Deli producer which are not exporting to Cyprus. Before Lidl started the business in Cyprus I was always disappointed when I bought German food at Paps, sold in the Deli dept., but coming from very cheap mass production manufacturers at a much to high price (rip-off)
Now at Lidl I can buy ham or sausages from excellent Deli-producer like Reinert, Sutter, Howe etc. or cheese from the Bavarian mountains etc....
Also Lidl products from Italian or Austrian producers are great quality for a reasonable price.

Max

Yes, Max I agree with your comments about Lidl’s fresh food.
I buy butter, cheese, bacon, meat, ice cream and a variety of fresh fruit and veggies.
In all these I always think that LIDL scores highly for quality, freshness and price.
But I guess that the reason that the artical which you quoted doesn’t mention them is due to them not stocking the full variety of products that a regular large supermarket offers.

Dee

They carry out this survey every year and you have to ask yourself, "WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT?" Unless you know the contents of the basket and that it's basically the same basic products, then it's a complete waste of time carrying it out and for that matter even reporting it!

Well my wife has said that when we do the next shopping trip we will try Sklavenitis.

One problem in Summer is Parking in the shade. Paps have shady places as do Lidl and Alpha Mega.
But not Sklavenitis.. So, do we leave the dog at home ?

Lidl now have even more shaded parking!

mike strand2 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:59 pm They carry out this survey every year and you have to ask yourself, "WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT?" Unless you know the contents of the basket and that it's basically the same basic products, then it's a complete waste of time carrying it out and for that matter even reporting it!

Summer is always slow news. There's only a certain amount of times you can say "Phew wot a scorcher!"

Dominic wrote: ↑Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:15 pm Lidl now have even more shaded parking!

Yes we used a new covered parking place on Saturday..

Our dog travels with us in the car most of the times that we go out. If we need shopping we go out reasonably early after breakfast.
Like our dog we do not like the heat, so we have the air con on.. When we stop for shopping at Lidl for example, my wife goes in the store and the dog and I go into the shady park across the way...
When the shopping is done we all return to the car. It is obviously better if the car has been in a shady spot.. I have been known just to wait for 20 minutes or so with the aircon running..

Trev: Hot tip (or cool tip, however you want to look at it), but there is no need to sit there for 20 mins with the A/C on full blast before setting off! Recommendations from the automotive A/C suppliers since the 50's:

Turn recirculation mode OFF (so outside ambient air flows into the vehicle).
Open a rear window and switch on A/C on full blast, then drive away.
After a couple of minutes, the hot & humid air in the cabin will be sucked out.
Close rear window and switch to Recirc Mode. Enjoy the coolth !!!

AL ;

You could try Sklavenitis at the mall Trev. It always seems to be busy when we go in and the bread there is very cheap and of good quality.
Supermarket prices in the UK now seem to be a standard price within each chain wherever you shop. I use the Asda Price Comparison website to compare our Asda shop with other supermarkets and Asda usually is the cheapest. However, if it is not 10% cheaper than the other supermarkets, they refund you and I have been rewarded with up to £7 off our next shop.

I must admit to missing Carrefour, especially for their shirts. When we were in Spain last week we went into a very large Carrefour and I stocked up on half price shirts and t shirts. The material they are made from is much thinner and cooler than the equivalent summer shirt collection in Marks.

We went to Lidl this morning and used the new covered parking area. Brilliant on such a hot day.

Last week we went to Sklavenitis and liked the nice wide aisles. Went upstairs and bought a couple of pairs of ladies white linen knee length shorts, surprisingly good quality, with 30% off.

Itisfun wrote: ↑Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:17 pm Lidl are far from the cheapest in many lines.e.g Beef Mince. A lady said "i told you you that they are cheaper look at that beef only 4.60 Paps were 5.50 Pity she did not mention that Lidl was 600 grams Paps a kilo. Meat and veg are no where near the best buys in Lidl. It is best to shop around

So 600g of Lidl minced beef @ €4-60 equates to €7-67 per kilo, making Paps the best value by a country mile!

AL