REVEALED: The products getting cheaper at German supermarkets
Germany's rising cost of living has continued to sting consumers, especially when it comes to prices at the supermarket checkout. In both February and March, the average price of food items jumped by 2.4 percent year on year, with dramatic hikes on everyday products.
Compared to early 2024, the price of butter jumped up by almost 28 percent this year, while fruit, vegetables and milk products all went up by around four percent per annum.
Though inflation sunk slightly to 2.2 percent in March, the seemingly unstoppable rise of food prices has continued to drive up daily costs. This means that households are still feeling the pinch - despite prices easing off
in other areas like energy
.
On Saturday, however, there was a bit of brighter news for consumers: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd announced that they were slashing their prices on a number of products.
Speaking to
Bild
, a spokesperson described the move as the "biggest price drop in history". The discounter is known for setting the prices in German supermarkets, leading to speculation that a further wave of price cuts could be on the way.
READ ALSO:
Germany's inflation falls in March but trade conflicts cloud horizon
According to the tabloid, a number of other supermarkets - including Edeka, Netto, Norma, Lidl, Rewe and Penny - have either reduced their prices or announced they are planning to do so.
If the trend continues, it could be the start of a long-awaited turnaround in exorbitant prices at the till.
Advertisement
Which items are getting cheaper - and where?
At the discounters Aldi, Norma and Lidl, the latest drop in prices primarily affects oil, bread, muesli, breakfast cereals and spreads like honey and Nutella.
In other words, it's just got a lot cheaper to enjoy a hearty breakfast.
At
Aldi,
for example, Golden Bridge muesli and cornflakes have both gone down in price: a 750g box of muesli now costs €2.29 as opposed to €2.49, while cornflakes have dropped from €1.59 to €1.45.
Goldähren wholewheat toast has been reduced by 20 percent in price at
Aldi Nord
, dropping from €0.99 to €0.79 for 500g. At
Aldi Süd,
Goldähren's 750g wholewheat sandwich toast has gone down in price from €1.29 to €1.09.
Cooking oils - one of the first products to soar in price during the inflation rush of 2022 - are also being reduced across the board. Instead of €5.49, a 500ml bottle of Bellasan olive oil will now set customers back €4.99 at Aldi. Rapeseed oil from the same brand is also getting cheaper, with 1l now costing €1.49 instead of €1.69.
A branch of Aldi-Nord in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/Unternehmensgruppe ALDI Nord | Unternehmensgruppe ALDI Nord
Aldi-rival
Lidl
has been quick to follow the discounter's price cuts, mainly downscaling prices in the breakfast cereal and bakery aisles. Crownfield Knusper Schoko and fruit muesli have both been reduced by around 8 percent to €2.29 for a 750g box, while frosted flakes from the same brand have dropped by 11 percent from €2.79 to €2.49 per box.
Meanwhile, wholemeal and white 'American-style' sandwich bread has sunk in price from €1.29 to €1.09 for a 750g loaf.
READ ALSO:
Six essential tips for saving money on your groceries in Germany
At discounter
Norma,
bread, cereal, spreads and cooking oils are also been targeted for price cuts. Sommerland Waldhonig (forest honey), for example, has dropped by 17 percent in price from €2.99 to €2.49 per jar. Nulacta haselnut creme spread (Norma's generic 'Nutella') now costs 15 percent less at €1.69 as opposed to €1.99 per jar.
Multicorn bread from the Kornmark and Harry brands has also been included in the wave of discounts, with 500g loaf costing €1.19 instead of €1.29. Delicia muesli bars, meanwhile, have dropped from €1.49 to €1.29, equating to a 13 percent price cut.
Advertisement
At
Edeka
, meanwhile, the price cuts have primarily been focused on the supermarket's
Gut und Gunstig
range. For example, Das Pure Haferbrot (oat bread) has been reduced from €1.95 to €1.75, while
Gut und Gunstig
oat flakes now cost €0.69 instead of €0.79.
Bild
reports that
Netto, Rewe
and
Penny
have implemented price cuts on a similar scale from Tuesday.
Why are supermarkets suddenly dropping their prices?
A big reason for the sudden price cuts is that supermarkets themselves are also benefiting from lower costs at the moment.
Compared to a year earlier, energy products such as fuel and heating have sunk by around 2.8 percent on average.
Advertisement
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022, prices soared on the global energy markets, producing a knock-on effect on other products as businesses struggled to offset higher heating and logistics costs.
This year, with energy prices continuing to sink dramatically, companies are seeing their overheads finally go down.
In the case of German supermarkets, some of these savings are finally being passed on to consumers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Germany
17 hours ago
- Local Germany
Germany unveils tax breaks to boost stagnant economy
"It's important to send a clear signal in support of our country's economic strength and competitiveness," Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said at a press conference. Klingbeil he said he hoped the package, worth a cumulative 45.8 billion euros, could be pushed through parliament by the end of the month. Under the plans, Germany's corporate tax rate would fall by one percent a year from 2028 to reach 10 percent, down from 15 percent. Companies would also be able to deduct 30 percent of the cost of new machinery and equipment from their tax bill between 2025 and 2027, and electric company cars would receive preferential tax treatment. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said in a statement the plans would send an important "signal" to firms that Germany was open for business. "Germany is back," she said. "Today's cabinet decision means we are going for growth and increased competitiveness, and more measures will come." Germany's economy has struggled in recent years in the face of high production costs at home, increasingly fierce Chinese competition and growing global trade tensions fired by US President Donald Trump. READ ALSO: Trump extends deadline for tariffs on goods from Germany to July 9th The new government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has already set out plans for a 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund in a bid to put the economy back on the right track. But analysts have warned that money alone will not be enough to restart Germany's economic motor without structural reforms. Commenting on an earlier outline of the tax plan, Deutsche Bank economist Robin Winkler said the deductions would provide "a welcome short-term stimulus for the manufacturing sector" without being a silver bullet. "Its impact on facilitating the broader structural transformation of the German economy is likely to be limited," he said in a research note. Advertisement Some of Germany's regional governments -- which would have to approve the plans in the parliament's upper house -- have voiced concern at the cost, with 28 billion euros in lost revenue forecast for them between 2025 and 2029. "These billions in investments will go up in smoke if the states and municipalities see holes in their core budgets," Anke Rehlinger, the leader of the Saarland region, said in an interview with news website T-Online.
Local Germany
17 hours ago
- Local Germany
'Slap in the face': Applicants blast Germany's plan to scrap citizenship reform
Germany's Federal Cabinet in Berlin passed a bill recently that aims to scrap the three-year path to citizenship for those foreigners considered "highly integrated". Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) who had brought the bill forward suggested that it marks the beginning of a "migration turnaround" -- essentially a tightening of Germany's immigration policies -- along with more patrols on the country's borders and the end of family reunifications for refugees . Advertisement The looming legal change, which still needs a vote of approval by the Bundestag, would prevent some people from applying for German citizenship until they've resided in the country for at least five years. But it was initially unclear how many of Germany's foreign residents it would affect, because eligibility for the fast-track three-year path was relatively limited. To get a better sense of how many immigrants would be affected, and what the changes mean for them, we conducted a survey of affected readers and got an expert view on the move. How many people are affected? Dr. Herbert Brücker, head of migration, integration and international labour market research at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), told The Local that he thought the number of people directly affected by the law change would be "very small". He said that the fast-track was "only earmarked for people who meet requirements regarding earnings, language proficiency and no dependency on welfare benefits etc., but also have to prove extraordinary achievements in the labour market, schools und universities, or other areas such as science, arts or (professional) sports." Recent naturalisation statistics confirm that very few applicants had managed to gain citizenship with the fast-track path. While Germany saw a record number of naturalisations in 2024 , nearly 50,000 more than the year before, only a few hundred of those were from fast-track applicants. In some German states, it seems that not a single fast-track naturalisation was approved. In Berlin however there were over 300 new "fast-track" citizens. Advertisement READ ALSO: Germany sees record number of foreigners gaining citizenship In response to our reader survey, several people said that they had planned to apply for citizenship via the three-year route, or had already submitted an application to naturalise after three years of residence. Dis-incentivising skilled worker migration? Asked if he thought the legal change would work against Germany's efforts to lure skilled workers, Brücker said that he would expect it to have a negative effect. "The fast track procedure was designed exactly to improve the position of Germany in the global competition for talent, for example in comparison to Canada, the US and Australia," he said. Engelhard Mazanke, director of the LEA, speaks at a naturalisation ceremony in the Berlin district of Wedding. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd von Jutrczenka He added that highly-skilled workers tend to be "more mobile than other groups of migrants, and have more choices" about where to go. But he also noted that citizenship is "just one among many factors affecting [immigrants'] location choice". Advertisement One reader, who identified herself only as Mel, told The Local, "This feels like a slap in the face." "As someone who ticks all of the boxes, it's frustrating that [the government] seems to want to penalise people who chose to learn the language, and pay some of the highest taxes." Mel said she would have been eligible to naturalise as of next year and had turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining here and having a chance to apply to become German. She added that if the law change would be reason enough for her to reconsider her efforts to remain in the country. Advertisement "My skills are in high demand and Germany doesn't seem to want them," she said. "I have turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining in Germany to apply. If Germany scraps this route, I will consider other jobs in other countries." Alexandra Curry from Lower Saxony was another fast-track applicant who was left angry over the move to scrap it. "I planned my whole life around the application," she said. "I didn't apply for jobs or masters programs, so that I didn't have to leave my state and start the application again. "So many missed opportunities. Whilst my application is still under consideration and I am likely to be accepted for it, if the cancellation of the law comes into immediate effect, maybe I just wasted the last year of my life and all the missed opportunities for nothing." Another reader, named Valentyn who lives in Munich, called the move a "bad decision" because it "decreases the desire to integrate." She pointed out that foreigners who might otherwise push themselves to learn C1 level German to be eligible for faster naturalisation will now just "not care" and settle for B1 understanding. Is there an argument for scrapping fast-track citizenship? Roughly half of the respondents to our survey said they either approved of Germany's decision to end the fast-track path, or were indifferent to the change. Notably, most of these respondents also answered that they planned to naturalise after the standard five-years of required residence (suggesting that they would not be eligible for the fast-track path). Advertisement Asked how they felt about the end of fast-track citizenship, one anonymous respondent from Hamburg wrote, " Das ist mir egal. " ("It doesn't matter to me.") In defence of their position they wrote that, the number of affected people was relatively small and five years was not a harsh residence requirement for naturalisation compared to other countries. They added, "I'd rather the government focus efforts on more impactful problems but if this satisfies their itch for further citizenship reform and protects the five year path and dual citizenship, then let's get it done so we can bring the focus back to more beneficial as improving the Opportunity Card program, for example." READ ALSO: Is Germany's 'Opportunity Card' visa too complicated to work? Many respondents to the survey who were not against the end of the three-year citizenship track shared this view, and many specifically cited the fact that the five year requirement would be maintained (as opposed to the previous eight) as a significant victory. For his part, foreign labour expert Brücker appears to be more worried about the symbolic significance of the law change than it's direct impacts. "We carry out surveys among the entire immigrant population in Germany," Brücker explained. "Interestingly enough, not only the refugees, but also immigrants using employment-related entry channels as well as EU citizens mention the respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law, and the welcoming culture among the main reasons they have chosen Germany as their destination country. "Thus, I think policies such as 'push-backs' of asylum seekers at the German border...[and] the general atmosphere and sentiments towards immigration also play a role. "Everything else equal, I would therefore expect that this also reduces skilled and highly-skilled labour migration to Germany."
DW
18 hours ago
- DW
High hopes as Germany's Merz meets US President Trump – DW – 06/04/2025
Will German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convince US President Donald Trump to be a reliable partner to Europe? Expectations are high for Merz's first visit to Washington. Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump have already exchanged private cell phone numbers and they are on a first-name basis, but aside from a brief encounter in New York years ago, this Thursday will be the first time that the two leaders meet. The new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is on his inaugural visit to Washington. Merz, like former chancellor Angela Merkel, the British Queen Elizabeth and French President Charles de Gaulle before him, has been invited to stay at the Blair House, directly adjacent to the White House. It was only a few weeks ago that Merz expressed strong disapproval of events in the Oval Office in March, when the US president publicly ridiculed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and blamed him for Russia's war against his country. Merz also took issue with Vice President JD Vance and other Trump associates for expressing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD). How Merz aims to regain Germany's standing on foreign issues To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Committed to trans Atlantic cooperation Recently, the German chancellor told public broadcaster WDR how his first telephone conversation with Donald Trump went: "It's always important not to talk for too long, but to keep it short and also let him talk." According to Merz, every second or third word the president said was "great." "You have to adapt your approach and work with him. At the same time, we mustn't make ourselves smaller than we are," said Merz. "We are not supplicants." Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, also thinks Merz needs to be confident going into his meeting with Trump. Masala told public broadcaster NDR: "He needs to be assertive, but at the same time make Trump feel respected as a great statesman with a strong vision. I believe that flattery combined with European self-confidence is the best strategy, although there is no guarantee that it will ultimately be successful." The talks in Washington are likely to focus on three major issues: the war in Ukraine, the tariff disputes, and the question of Europe's contribution to its own security. On security issues, Merz can now point to some achievements. Trump has repeatedly complained about the low defense spending of some European NATO partners, including Germany, and threatened to withdraw US protection. Now Merz can say that Germany is planning a massive military build-up: Five percent of Germany's GDP will be allocated to defense in the future, with 3.5% going directly to the military and 1.5% to defense-related infrastructure. German FM: Germany to ramp up defense spending To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tariffs and defense Germany is also seeking to assume a greater leadership role in Europe. The joint visit made to Kyiv by the heads of state of Germany, France, Great Britain and Poland to show their support, which was initiated by Merz, demonstrated Europe's willingness to meet the American demand that it takes responsibility for its own security affairs. In return, Merz and other European leaders hope to work with the US to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the issue of tariffs, Merz has no authority to negotiate because trade policy is a EU matter. But as an export nation, Germany is getting hit hard by trade barriers. On the day Merz departed, US import tariffs on European steel and aluminum doubled to 50%. The chancellor is likely to urge both sides to avoid an escalating trade conflict in which everyone loses. Friedrich Merz is very much a trans Atlanticist. He is likely to try to convince Donald Trump that it is also in his own interest for the US to remain committed to Europe. But political scientist Carlo Masala is pessimistic: "I believe that any long-term strategy that can work must assume that the United States will pull out of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine." Europeans will have to be prepared for the US, as Ukraine's most important supporter, to withdraw, Masala said. "And to move quickly when it comes to the question of European defense capabilities and sovereignty," he said. "That is the long-term strategy." Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU imports To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Will Trump visit his ancestral home in Germany? With the new federal government made up of the conservative CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD), a new style has also emerged in foreign policy. Former Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was sometimes criticized for being moralizing and patronizing. The new government now wants to focus more on common interests and finding compromises, even with difficult partners, such as the Trump administration. The conflicts between Germany and the US are numerous, and Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump are very different characters. But the German chancellor is determined to engage openly with the US president. Echoing a move by former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz has invited the US president to visit the homeland of his ancestors. Trump's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, grew up in the winegrowing village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate region of Germany before emigrating to the US. It is not yet known whether Trump will accept the invitation this time. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
