Greece grocery prices fall 9.5% in cost-of-living measure

Prices of more than 1,700 grocery and school supplies items in Greece fell by an average of 9.5 percent on Monday under a government-backed measure aimed at easing pressure on household budgets.

Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos said the measure “provides relief to households and citizens confronted with the high cost of living”. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government said the reductions will remain in place until the end of the year.

Mitsotakis said on Facebook that the measure was not a solution to all problems weighing on household budgets but provided temporary concrete relief for Greeks facing high grocery prices and housing costs while salaries remain low.

The measure adds to cuts of 10 cents per litre on petrol and five cents per litre on diesel that have been in place for two months.

Greece's economy was hit by the debt crisis that began in 2008, and earnings have not kept pace with the rest of the European Union. Eurostat data showed annual inflation in Greece at 3.3 percent in July, while the Greek statistics agency Elstat put annual food price inflation at 2.7 percent in June.