Comparison between Prices in Bulgaria and the UK: Where Are Prices Higher?

Comparison between Bulgarian prices and those in the UK, which are also increasing due to the crisis in the Middle East.

Bulgaria’s minimum wage is nearly four times lower than that in the UK. At the same time, the price of a kilogramme of cucumbers in Britain averages around €2.90, while according to the Bulgarian state price portal “Kolko Struva” (“How Much Does It Cost?”), cucumber prices in Bulgaria today range between €1.25 and €3.00.

In London, diesel is around 40 euro cents more expensive than in Sofia. Meanwhile, a traditional Bulgarian banitsa (pastry) in the British capital costs between €3.50 and €4.50.

At one of the few Bulgarian bakeries in London, prices of pastries have had to increase by around 20 pence (€0.23) since April because of the Middle East crisis and rising raw material costs. One pound currently equals approximately €1.15.

Aneta Spasova, sales assistant at a Bulgarian bakery in London: “A banitsa (pastry) costs between £3.10 and £3.80, depending on whether it is with cheese, ham, spinach or onion. Products in the shops have become more expensive too—cheese, eggs… naturally the prices of patries have gone up as well.”

The final retail price of the pastries—mainly bought by Bulgarians, Romanians and Albanians—also reflects higher gas, electricity and water bills.

Bulgarians living there say their weekly grocery shopping has almost doubled in cost.

Aneta Spasova: “I used to spend £100 to £150 for the whole week. Now it comes to around £200, considering I have two children.”

Yoanna Mandzhukova, a Bulgarian living in London: “Last year our weekly shopping was £80 to £100, and now we pay £200 to £220 for the same things.”

On average, a kilogram of cucumbers in London can be found for around £2.50 (€2.89), while lettuce is more expensive than in Bulgaria at nearly €3. Tomatoes range from €2.30 to €7.00.

The prices for Bulgaria were taken from the government portal “Kolko Struva”. Bulgarians in London were also asked what they thought of a price of €6 per kilogram of tomatoes, as recorded in the Blagoevgrad region three weeks ago.

Aneta Spasova: “€6 for tomatoes? Wow! Here they are around £1.50 to £2.”

Yoanna Mandzhukova: “All fruit and vegetables here are much cheaper than in Bulgaria.”