ATHENS – With complaints that so-called Household Baskets in which supermarkets are supposed to have 51 products at lower prices not being enough, Greek households are finding it difficult to buy many foods because of soaring inflation.’

Food prices in Athens and Berlin are almost at the same level, but the German minimum wage is more than double the Greek one, the leftist Avgi journal reported in a slap at the rival New Democracy conservative government.

The news site Euractiv noted the dilemma for many in Greece, especially with the government saying it can’t afford to lower a 24 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on foods despite estimates the economy will grow more than 6 percent.

It’s problematic for low-income families, the report said, after other rival parties of the government said inflation has outpaced state aid and cut the purchasing power 40 percent for those making less than 750 euros ($768)  monthly.

Referring to Numbeo, Numbeo, a Serbian crowd-sourced consumer price database, the report said of 18 selected foods that Greek consumers on average pay more for food than Germans based on minimum wage differences.

Surveys have shown that food prices are a major concern for Greeks and residents ahead of the mid-2023 elections where worry about the economy is rising during the waning COVID-19 pandemic.
The site In.gr said that the government, which has poured 9 billion euros ($9.21 billion) into paying 90 percent of doubled electric bills, is looking at giving low-income families a grant of up to 150 euros ($154) to help buy food.