Irish households spend 8% of budget on food, below EU average, says Eurostat

The European statistics office showed Irish households also spent around 3% of their budgets on alcohol, which was slightly above the EU average.

EU households spent over €1bn on food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Irish households spent 8% of their budgets on food in 2021, which is below the EU average of 14%, according to Eurostat.

During this time period, households in the EU spent over €1bn, or 7% of total EU gross domestic product (GDP) on food and non-alcoholic drinks.

The highest shares for expenditure in this category during 2021 were recorded in Romania with 25%, and around 20% in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, and Slovakia.

In contrast, the lowest shares were in Ireland, Luxembourg, Austria, Denmark and Germany.

The share of total household expenditure on food decreased in all EU countries, compared with 2020, except for Poland and Slovakia, where it increased. The highest decreases were in Greece, Lithuania, and Croatia, Estonia and Slovenia.

The European statistics office showed Irish households also spent around 3% of their budgets on alcohol, which is a drop compared to the previous year but still slightly above the EU average.

The figures on alcohol consumption do not include expenditure on alcoholic drinks served in restaurants and hotels, as this data is from the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic when many hospitality businesses were impacted by some lockdown measures.

In 2021, the share of total household expenditure on alcohol, when compared with the previous year, remained unchanged in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. It increased only in Croatia.

Among the remaining EU members, the largest decreases were recorded in Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, and Estonia.

Pre-pandemic, households in the EU spent over €956bn, or 6.8% of EU GDP on food and non-alcoholic beverages. 

The full impact of inflation on household budgets, especially on food spend, is still unclear for 2022. 

The annual inflation rate in Ireland eased to 7.7% in January, giving consumers some hope that prices will go down. 

This rate has fallen significantly below the annual inflation rate of 9.2% in the euro area, which was recorded in December.

Prices have decreased as the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices inflation estimate stood at 8.2% in Ireland in the 12 months to December, however inflation continues to bite.