Food prices in Europe: Germany nearly 12 percent above EU average

How much the weekly shop costs varies widely across Europe. On Oct. 24, 2026, Euronews analyzed price data from the Numbeo platform, which is based on user submissions (as of mid-2026), and converted it to an EU average of 100. Germany scores 111.6 points, nearly 12 percent above the EU average. A basket of 18 staple foods costs 75.20 euros there, compared with an EU average of 69.84 euros.

Romania is the cheapest in the EU, according to the analysis, at 66.7 points and a basket costing 45.90 euros. Across Europe, Moldova is at the bottom with 57.2 points and Switzerland at the top with 189.2 points and 137.90 euros. Euronews gives no overall figure for Bulgaria but offers one example: 500 grams of fresh white bread costs 1.02 euros there, compared with 3.18 euros in Denmark, more than three times as much. At the same time, Bulgarian households spend more than 20 percent of their budget on food; the EU average is 13.6 percent, according to Eurostat.

“Lower prices do not necessarily mean better affordability,” said Professor Jeremiás Máté Balogh of Corvinus University. The experts interviewed cited labor costs and energy as key price drivers. Diesel moves “the entire food chain, from the tractor to the truck that supplies supermarkets,” said Ilaria Benedetti of the University of Tuscia. Numbeo data are not official statistics and can fluctuate depending on the number of submissions.