High prices compound squeeze of Cypriot consumers
Eurostat has come up again with data that reveal the extent of the hardship that many families face in Cyprus in the wake of the financial crisis and the subsequent austerity policies. For another year Cyprus has been found to be one of the most expensive countries in the EU in terms of prices for some basic food and other products.
Along with fellow crisis-hit Greeks, Cypriots pay the most in Europe for dairy products, for instance. Milk, cheese and eggs are priciest in the two Greek speaking countries, while everything else in Cyprus, apart from meat and tobacco, is on average 9% more expensive than in the rest of the EU.
In Limassol social food banks have been receiving a revealingly high number of families and individuals in need of help. Charity officials in the port city point out that the prices are still sky-high in a country not used to high unemployment and with a government somewhat depleted in its ability to protect the weakest, due to the fiscal restrictions imposed by the memorandum of understanding signed with the international creditors.
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(Photo: EUCyprus)
