Food Will Be Even Cheaper in Romania Starting June 2015

I’ve recently shared an article with you that proved that one person can eat a varied diet in Romania for just 88 Euros per month if they make some smart choices. That’s a really great thing, especially since the food prices in our supermarkets are sometimes higher than those in Spain, for example (and similar to other countries in Europe).

But things are going to get a lot better. Or at least they should, because the Romanian government has decided to cut the VAT on food to 9% (the current number is a whooping 24%).

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, and the new tax will go in full effect starting June 1st, 2015. This measure was announced and proposed a while ago and all Romanians are extremely happy to hear about it. And you should be too, if you’re planning to visit the country, because the new tax won’t affect only the supermarket foods, but also non-alcoholic beverages and catering services.

A similar measure has been implemented in the past, when the VAT was reduced to 9% for bread. Since the price of a regular loaf of bread was already low (about 0.20 Euros), the tax cut wasn’t that obvious. However, now it should be since more expensive products are involved.

However, there are some concerns that at least some producers will take advantage of this VAT reduction to increase their profits and offer their products at the same prices. I personally am under the impression that some supermarket products made in Romania have a slightly higher price right now so that it actually drops in June, but to the values they had before the price was artificially increased. I am not 100% about this – I could be just paranoid.

One thing is clear: since we’re tracking our monthly spending each month, we’ll surely see if the lower VAT will have an impact on our spending and I will be more than happy to share with you the results after a few months. One thing is clear though: normally, the already cheap food in Romania should get even cheaper!

Calin
Follow me

Share if you liked this!

6 thoughts on “Food Will Be Even Cheaper in Romania Starting June 2015”

  1. What great news! Let’s hope you are being paranoid and the prices will be lower. I thought the VAT here at 21% was high! but you guys even beat that. I am curious to see the new totals once it goes into effect…

    Reply
  2. Calin: Jolly good show, what? Let’s hope the powers that be will catch the sellers who try to take advantage. Also, competition should ensure the lowest prices will be available. Too much at Carrefour, just stop by Kaufland;-) So you’re knocking out the posts b4 u leave. Oh no, how will I survive the month of May;-() ~Teil

    Reply
    • Yes Teil, hopefully they will not all decide to play tricks on us and then all will have to lower the prices. Hopefully.

      And we’ll see what’s to be done in May – maybe it won’t be a completely silent month after all 🙂

      Reply
  3. Good news, although I hope the national budget doesn’t go bust. Ponta is trying to get popular with this move? If you are on the subject of saving money, why don’t you do an article on what Romanians do in terms of saving their money and investing it, say, on the stock exchange or in bonds. It seems to me the Romanian investment climate for small savers/investors isn’t very friendly. High fees and commissions take all the fun and profit out of it.

    Reply
    • This is not only a move for him to get popular, but also a measure that they hope will fix tax evasion. Most of the businesses prefer to sell goods without declaring them – and therefore they pay no tax. They hope that now when the tax is of a lower value – combined with increased checking of these businesses will result, paradoxically, in more money.

      In terms of Romanians saving money, most of them believe that the best method is keeping them at home under the pillow. The stock market in Romania is as exciting as a 500-page book about brushing your teeth – plus, it’s not really my best point.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to C. the Romanian Cancel reply