Consumers spent twice as much on alcohol than food in 2007
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CONSUMERS spent almost twice as much on alcohol, cigarettes and mobile phones last year as they did on food.
Overall we forked out €7.1bn on alcohol alone, both in and outside the home, new figures from the Central Statistics Office reveal.
This compares to the €6.2bn we spent on food items, while we also splurged €2bn on cigarettes and €2.2bn on mobile phone charges.
The figures translate to an average of €1.73 spent on such luxury items for every euro spent on essential food items.
But despite this, there is a public perception that we are being fleeced at the supermarket till.
"Every day we hear criticism about food prices, yet we're spending more on booze alone every year. Fundamentally, there is something very wrong about this," economist Jim Power said.
"Nobody is denying that food prices are rising, but when compared to other everyday costs, the Irish public are still getting value for money. I believe that the decline in the economy will encourage consumers to re-assess their shopping habits and realise it's more a case of excessive spending than excessive prices."
Campaign
Agri Aware yesterday announced it was going to spend more than €50,000 on a public information campaign starting this week to remind consumers that they are still spending more of our disposable cash on non-essential items than on necessities, despite the fact that food prices are rising.
"Our point is there's been a huge debate about food prices and we're not denying that it's going up. But food isn't as expensive as people believe it to be," Agri Aware director James Kelly said.
Contained in the two-page brochure called 'Where's Your Cents? The Facts and Truth' are diagrams revealing that it costs less to buy three loaves of sliced white bread (€3.90) than to buy one ready-made sandwich at a sandwich bar for €4. The guide, available at www. agriaware.ie also reveals that consumers can still buy a whole fresh chicken for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes at €7.45.
Asked whether the information campaign is more an exercise in public relations than a guide to help consumers, Mr Kelly said the campaign is merely to help consumers realise where their money is going.
"We're not denying that food prices are creeping up, but they're coming from a historically low base," he said.
- Allison Bray
