Dairy products in Irish shops almost 20% higher than the EU average

TheLastMohican

As a large producer of dairy food, how is it that the prices are so high in this island.

Cigs and alcohol are the usual targets in budgets, yet they are far more expensive here than in most countries abroad. And are blamed for all kinds of issues.

A lot of the people who control prices are in the uber high pay brackets, does this lofty position skew their views on realistic prices? Or are we a soft touch for these greedy and predatory ponces?

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/food-drink/ireland-the-fifth-most-expensive-country-to-buy-food-in-europe-29362555.html

**Vai**

Dairy products in Irish shops almost 20% higher than the EU average?

Stick 'em on a lower shelf.

Buh dum chssssss

Valetta

Quality costs.

cson

Mmmmm Dairy Milks

Corvo

In fairness, they are sometimes worth it.

Have you ever tried some of that testicle-mould that passes for cheese in foreign countries or that monkey jizz that is meant to be milk?

Sergeant

Geographic location, market size, high cost structures, premium product.

shanered

How much dairy do we export?
Its typical of this country, im going to use an example, its not great due to the tax rate involved on alcohol, but, still...
It is cheaper to get a bottle of Jameson Whiskey in most other countries then the Jameson factory itself.
Some things just dont make sense to me....

cson

Corvo wrote: »

In fairness, they are sometimes worth it.

Have you ever tried some of that testicle-mould that passes for cheese in foreign countries or that monkey jizz that is meant to be milk?

Monkey Jizz is an expensive delicacy in some countries.

Dravokivich

A lot of stuff in this country is over priced. Why wouldn't the milk be?

Anyone

You could call it....the fillet of cheddar

SEPT 23 1989

Who is bringing the horse to France?

ArmaniJeanss

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

CruelCoin

Valetta wrote: »

Quality costs.

Having drank milk in spain/france/holland/germany/switzerland, etc, i can tell you there is not a jot in quality difference.

hfallada

Dairy farms in France are 400 hectares. Farms in the west of Ireland are 26 hectares. Irish farms lack large economies of scale.

Plus Irish dairy products are nice. There is a reason why Kerry Gold is by far the most popular butter in Germany.

srsly78

CruelCoin wrote: »

Having drank milk in spain/france/holland/germany/switzerland, etc, i can tell you there is not a jot in quality difference.

You got lucky. Many people in europe drink UHT milk (the stuff that doesn't need refrigeration) - it tastes rank. I didn't even know this stuff existed until I went abroad...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-temperature_processing

In brussels the small corner shops often didn't have a fridge - so no proper milk. Had to go out of my way to go to supermarket and get proper milk.

Then consider the lack of proper tea and rashers abroad!!! The horror...

Oh yeah, and we earn a lot more than most european countries so everything is more expensive anyway

ScumLord

shanered wrote: »

How much dairy do we export?

The majority I'd assume. I've heard we produce enough milk to feed 44 million people.

I don't know if we're over priced or whether the papers are comparing like for like. I would say our dairy is of a higher standard than most of Europe.

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Who is bringing the horse to France?

Last time we sent the horse to France they sent it back as burger meat.

fishy fishy

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

not any more.

person works in spar shop on job bridge makes 50 euro a week.
shopkeepers pays nothing.

any questions?

Celly Smunt

srsly78 wrote: »

You got lucky. Many people in europe drink UHT milk (the stuff that doesn't need refrigeration) - it tastes rank. I didn't even know this stuff existed until I went abroad...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-temperature_processing

There's not much demand for UHT milk because its ****e.

Anyone

http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/malk.jpg

Pace2008

Have you ever drank the "milk" they serve in most other EU countries? You get what you pay for and then some, in this case.

CruelCoin wrote: »

Having drank milk in spain/france/holland/germany/switzerland, etc, i can tell you there is not a jot in quality difference.

Lies, damned lies, and faulty tastebuds.

DanWall

Just bought some Danish Blue Cheese, the Cashel Blue from just up the road is 50% more expensive.

ScumLord

The milk in Spain is shyte. The first day I left the shop with UHT, went back the next day, ensured I got proper milk and it didn't taste much better than UHT.

Irish cattle are basically all organic, they eat grass and **** in a field. Foreign cattle eat corn and **** in their beds.

Capt'n Midnight

Which milk did they choose ?

Because Avonmore is more expensive than Premier even though it's the same company and same creamery.

Once it's got NDC on the label it's way better than the reconstituted milk you get on the continent. Some of that stuff is so vile you end up buying yoghurt or similar milk drink or boiling the milk

TheLastMohican

This link shows charts/graph of all EU/European prices.

A sobering thought for drinkers/smokers and people that eat :mad:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2345757/Britain-pays-food-alcohol-Europe-Norway-expensive-place-shop.html

Amirani

ScumLord wrote: »

The milk in Spain is shyte. The first day I left the shop with UHT, went back the next day, ensured I got proper milk and it didn't taste much better than UHT.

Irish cattle are basically all organic, they eat grass and **** in a field. Foreign cattle eat corn and **** in their beds.

This is key. There's much more strict regulations in Ireland about the production of dairy and beef than in other countries. Elsewhere you'll find cows being fed grain rather than grass, which while cheaper, impacts on the quality of the produce.

Add to that the fact that we have generally high wage rates and a small domestic market, and it starts to make sense.

Amirani

TheLastMohican wrote: »

This link shows charts/graph of all EU/European prices.

A sobering thought for drinkers/smokers and people that eat :mad:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2345757/Britain-pays-food-alcohol-Europe-Norway-expensive-place-shop.html

Taxation plays a big role in that. Notice also that the more expensive countries all have wage rates that are higher than the EU average.

Dyr

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

Hmm...Expensive wages eh?

http://notesonthefront.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8342f650553ef01901d8dcb72970b-pi

Amirani

Bambi wrote: »

Hmm...Expensive wages eh?

http://notesonthefront.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8342f650553ef01901d8dcb72970b-pi

In fairness, that's one of the least informative charts I've ever seen.

srsly78

Bambi wrote: »

Hmm...Expensive wages eh?

http://notesonthefront.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8342f650553ef01901d8dcb72970b-pi

How about this one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_Europe_by_monthly_average_wage

Lots of references etc at bottom.

rossie1977

shanered wrote: »

How much dairy do we export?
Its typical of this country, im going to use an example, its not great due to the tax rate involved on alcohol, but, still...
It is cheaper to get a bottle of Jameson Whiskey in most other countries then the Jameson factory itself.
Some things just dont make sense to me....

a pint of guinness is more expensive in dublin on average than most capitals cities which makes no sense, go to spain and the local beer is really cheap, go to prague and you can get a pint of local beer away from the tourist bars for 50 cent, even in the tourist bars its only €1.50

Dyr

NiallSparky wrote: »

In fairness, that's one of the least informative charts I've ever seen.

go nuts

http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=earn_nt_net&lang=en

dxhound2005

This is from the link:

Even though we're a huge producer and exporter of dairy products, the price of milk, cheese and eggs here is 19pc above average.

Are cows laying eggs now?

Amirani

Bambi wrote: »

go nuts

http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=earn_nt_net&lang=en

CSO figures would seem to conflict with that data: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/earnings/2013/earnlabcosts_q12013.pdf

goose2005

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

Wages do not make up that great a proportion of cost, especially not in a high-turnover convenience store.

hfallada wrote: »

Dairy farms in France are 400 hectares. Farms in the west of Ireland are 26 hectares. Irish farms lack large economies of scale.

Actually France is a terrible example, they;re almost as bad as us at subsidising unprofitable tiny farms (average size 33 ha Ireland, 50 ha France, compared to 95 ha US.

KTRIC

I've had milk in nearly every European country and Ireland by far has some of the best. UHT is fairly common place on the continent and its fairly nasty sh!te !!!

armchair fusilier

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

Not quite. It think it has more to do with Tesco's Irish profit margins being the company's highest in the world

Dyr

NiallSparky wrote: »

CSO figures would seem to conflict with that data: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/earnings/2013/earnlabcosts_q12013.pdf

Better let eurostat know

ArmaniJeanss

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Person who works in Spar shop in Ireland earns €9 an hour.
Person who works in Spar shop in Latvia earns €4 an hour.

Therefore Spar Ireland need to sell milk at a higher price to pay the wages.
Its not that difficult OP.

goose2005 wrote: »

Wages do not make up that great a proportion of cost, especially not in a high-turnover convenience store.

Its not just the end-staff in the shop though, all the staff along the way have above average wages - the milk truck van driver who collects, the person who fills in the paperwork, the person who maintains/fixes the HHTs, the forklift drivers, the lads in the factories who do the heavy loading, the cleaners who keep the depots clean.

Everyone single one is being paid a wage that is above the EU average (I'm not saying anyone is being paid excessively, they all do a good fair job and I'm sure no-one is living the high life) and it is surely self evident that the price for the consumer at the end of the chain therefore has to be above average also. How could it possibly be otherwise?

crockholm

To be honest,I've not seen too many Europeans having a pint of milk with the dinner,and it makes sense,because it's largely shyte on the continent,pretty much a condiment in western Europe-jut there to be added to coffee/tea/chocolate.



Irish milk ftw.

Carawaystick

Has anyone found the price eurostat are using for milk? cos If 4l for 2.69 is 118% of average i'd be surprised...

hfallada

rossie1977 wrote: »

a pint of guinness is more expensive in dublin on average than most capitals cities which makes no sense, go to spain and the local beer is really cheap, go to prague and you can get a pint of local beer away from the tourist bars for 50 cent, even in the tourist bars its only €1.50

Compare like with like. Tax is low in Eastern Europe and the wages are ****. Of course its going to be cheaper. Everything from wages to rent is more expensive in Ireland.