23-07-2025
CSO: Ireland had 6th most expensive food prices in 2024
Ireland was the sixth most expensive country in terms of food prices in 2024, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), published today, Wednesday, July 23.
In its publication 'Price levels of food, beverages and tobacco 2024: How Ireland compares', a total of 36 countries in Europe were surveyed.
The most expensive country for food was Switzerland, with Ireland ranked sixth having food prices which were 12% above the EU27 average and the least expensive listed as North Macedonia.
Ireland was the third most expensive country in the Eurozone for 'bread & cereals', the sixth most expensive country for 'fruits, vegetables, & potatoes', the eighth most expensive for both 'milk, cheese & eggs, and fis'h, the ninth most expensive for 'meat', and the 12th most expensive for 'oils & fats'.
In terms of alcoholic beverages, the most expensive country in the study was Iceland, while Ireland ranked fifth and Italy was the least expensive for alcoholic drinks.
Ireland topped the list of countries for the most expensive non-alcoholic beverages and also tobacco in 2024, with prices for such beverages 40% higher than the EU27 average,
The non-alcoholic beverages category included: coffee; tea; cocoa; mineral waters; soft drinks; concentrates; fruit juices; and vegetable juices.
Turkiye was the least expensive for tobacco and North Macedonia had the cheapest non-alcoholic beverages.
Commenting on the results, senior statistician in the Prices Division at CSO Ireland, Edel Flannery said: 'Looking at how the price levels of food, beverages, and tobacco in Ireland compared with other European countries in 2024, Ireland was the second most expensive country in the Eurozone and third most expensive of the 27 European Union (EU27) countries for food, with prices 12% above the average for the EU27.
'Of the 36 countries surveyed, food was the most expensive in Switzerland at 61% above the EU27 average, and the least expensive in North Macedonia at 27% below the EU27 average.'
CSO
The information is compiled from data collected as part of the Eurostat-OECD Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) programme, under which price data on food, beverages and tobacco in 2024 was collected by 36 European national statistical offices.
Information for Ireland was collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The countries included in the analysis, in 2024, were:
The 27 member states of the European Union (EU);
The three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland);
The six candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkiye).
In the 'Food, Beverages & Tobacco 2024' survey, prices were collected for 456 individual items covering the main broad categories including: Bread & Cereals; Meat; Fish; Milk, Cheese & Eggs; Oils & Fats; Fruits, Vegetables & Potatoes; Non-Alcoholic Beverages; Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.
The results presented are based on the price levels for a fixed basket of items.
