In Finland, the prices of alcoholic beverages were the highest in the EU last year, according to a price comparison program coordinated by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.
According to the study, the price of alcohol in Finland was 120 per cent higher than the EU average in 2021. This is a significant increase compared to 2020, when prices in Finland were 91 per cent higher than the EU average.
The second highest alcohol prices were in Ireland and Sweden, while the cheapest drinks in the EU were found in Hungary, Austria and Germany.
Last year, Finland was also the sixth most expensive EU country in terms of food prices and the fifth most expensive in terms of general consumer prices.
Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg were found to be the most expensive countries in these categories.
Rising inflation is bringing change
Eurozone inflation has risen to a record high this year, standing at 8.1 per cent year-on-year in May.
By comparison, inflation in Finland was 7.1 per cent last month, the highest since February 1990.
By Harri Kananoja, A senior statistician at Statistics Finland, rising inflation will have a significant impact on prices across Europe and weigh on the price benchmark. However, he added that these effects will not be visible until the end of this year.
"A comparison of nearly forty countries requires the collection of a huge amount of data on price changes and weights of different commodity groups, as well as changes in exchange rates. The price level indices 2021-2022 will not be updated until the end of the year," Chickens said.
However, rising inflation rates are likely to have different effects in different countries.
"In Europe, food prices have risen at different rates during the spring. It can be assumed that the relative price level of high-inflation countries has increased compared to other countries," Chickens pointed out.
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Source: The Nordic Page