There has been many an argument about the cost of living in Malta, and how high food prices are these days, I’ve heard the comments on the situation, that we are now paying the lowest we have ever paid for food in history, now these statements can ring true when you take in certain factors, such as cost of living in comparison to years ago when milk, bread, and other staples were half the price as it is now.

The reality of the situation is that it has gotten cheaper

The reality of the situation is that it has gotten cheaper.  The difference is that we have a wider variety now which is due to certain business factors, such as ‘supply and demand’, and the dreaded ‘competition’. If we went and purchased ‘like for like’ as we bought 20 years ago, you would probably notice a reduction in the cost, without exaggerating at how cheap things used to be, as we are in a habit of making up crap such as “my weekly shopping only cost Lm1 back then”.

My point is that the variety is there because retailers can no longer compete on a carton of milk, or a loaf of bread, in fact they can no longer compete on a frozen pizza Margherita, having to offer you a different product to hide their margin.  You can compare a frozen pizza funghi from Goodfellas to the same pizza from McCains, but can you compare a frozen Pizza funghi to a Frozen Pizza Funghi ‘Stone Baked’ like for like? probably not, justifying a price hike on the ‘stone baked’ pizza.

This is nothing to complain about, as retailers constantly have to innovate to compete, and to offer more ‘value’ to you the consumer.  This is why we find it easy to say that our weekly shopping was expensive, look at that ‘Austrian bourbon and Honey Glazed canned ham’ that you really had to have because it looked so tasty, or that ready made pizza that costs a quarter of the price to make it yourself.  Being more intelligent about your shopping habits, is not about being frugal, it’s about budgeting yourself.  I’ve seen so many people with deep cupboards containing remnants of that luxury porcini whole wheat pasta that “I’m going to make someday, as soon as I find a good recipe to make it with”.

To get to my second point about groceries and the cost of living, let’s get things into perspective.  The above picture is a pile of groceries that I picked up from the local grocer in Sliema.  This is NOT my weekly shopping, or my monthly shopping, these are just a few things to throw into soups, pastas, pies and whatever floats my boat that week.  Even though this won’t be all the ingredients I require, it’s just an example.  Stuff for sandwiches, pastas, and some fruit in the evening, I can squeeze out around 3-4 dinners out of all of this; with a good imagination, and if I really planned it, I could squeeze out a weeks worth.  The value… 11.38 Euro (Lm4.89)  I’m not breaking the bank, nor am I starving myself, and I’m certainly not a gourmet chef that can turn an onion into a soup that would wow patrons across europe.  I’m just giving you food for thought (pardon the pun).

Looking at this picture, one thing comes to mind, “@%&£!!! I forgot the eggs again”.

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