HC Deb 29 June 1978 vol 952 cc628-30W
Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what information he has on the cost in £ sterling in each of the European Community member States of the following goods and services: one litre of milk, one litre of beer, one litre of wine, one kilo of chuck steak, one kilo of fresh cod, one kilo of fresh herrings, 12 eggs, one kilo of apples, one kilo of oranges, one kilo of bananas, one kilo of tomatoes, one kilo of potatoes, one kilo of standard bread, one kilo of sugar, 20 cigarettes, 50 kilometres of commuter return rail travel, and 15 kilometres of commuter return bus travel.

Mr. Golding

I have been asked to reply.

The available data for capital cities of all the EEC Countries, derived from the last EEC "Survey of Retail Prices" conducted in Autumn 1975, are given in the following table.

Comparisons should be made with caution, since the items priced are not always fully comparable between countries and the prices cannot be regarded as national averages.

RETAIL PRICES OF SELECTED ITEMS IN EEC CAPITALS—AUTUMN 1975
£ sterling
London Paris Bonn Rome Amsterdam Brussels Luxembourg Dublin Copenhagen
1 litre of milk (pasteurised, in most common type of container) 0.15 0.18 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.17 0.21 0.11 0.18
1 litre of beer (original gravity 1040–1040°) 0.56 0.32 0.60 0.41 0.30 0.35 0.31 0.57 0.55
1 litre of wine (ordinary red table wine) 1.32 0.30 0.69 0.26 0.61 0.45 0.36 1.13 1.25
1 kilo of brisket steak 0.77 1.10 1.62 1.70 1.33 ֵ 1.01 0.62 1.43
1 kilo of fresh cod fillets 1.39 2.03 1.51 ֵ 1.61 2.04 2.01 1.39 1.48
12 eggs (brown, domestic origin) 0.42 0.59 0.52 0.59 0.50 0.59 0.56 0.48 0.56
1 kilo of apples (Golden Delicious, Grade I) 0.30 0.28 0.28 0.23 0.30 0.26 0.30 0.31 0.52
1 kilo of oranges (Grade I) 0.32 0.43 0.38 0.27 0.33 0.41 0.47 0.34 0.47
1 kilo of bananas (Grade I) 0.32 0.44 0.29 0.49 0.30 0.32 0.39 0.27 0.48
1 kilo of tomatoes (Grade I) 0.55 0.56 0.36 0.35 0.33 0.58 0.81 0.64 1.04
1 kilo of potatoes (Grade I) 0.17 0.12 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.30
1 kilo of standard bread (white 450–1,000 gram loaves) 0.22 0.31 0.50 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.29 0.20 0.55
1 kilo of sugar (granulated, 1st quality) 0.26 0.28 0.34 ֵ 0.29 0.28 0.26 0.24 0.40
20 cigarettes (light, average of most common brands) 0.38 0.37 0.45 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.25 0.38 0.76
50 km 2nd class return rail ticket ֵ 2.43 1.96 0.79 1.83 1.93 1.78 2.30 2.42
15 km single bus ticket ֵ ֵ 0.38 0.12 0.26 0.31 0.30 0.36 0.48
Source: Eurostat "Survey of Retail Prices 1975".
Notes:
ֵ = Not available.

The prices have been converted according to average market exchange rates in October 1975