With increasingly expensive products, the Easter fast becomes a challenge for Romanians who want to keep it. Vegetables and fruits are increasingly expensive, and people are making financial efforts to be able to buy them. Antena3 CNN teams went to several markets in the country to find out what the prices are.
Vegetables and fruits are more and more expensive, but the prices differ from one stall to another and especially from one city to another. By far, Romanians from Sibiu pay the most, where just one bunch of green onions costs 3 lei.
The same product can be found in Bucharest or Craiova for only 2 lei. The cheapest radishes are in Craiova, while in Sibiu they are sold five times more expensive. But mushrooms are more expensive in the capital.
In the largest agri-food market in Sibiu, the shopping basket for two fasting days should reach approximately 140 lei. The most expensive are the imported vegetables. A kilogram of peppers costs 20 lei, and one of high-quality tomatoes costs 18 lei.
Instead, the same basket of vegetables for two days of fasting costs around 100 lei in the capital. An amount still too high for many Romanians. However, the manufacturers have an explanation.
“We also have expenses. First of all, fuel has become more expensive for those who use stoves, heat guns for heat,” they say. At the same time, they complain that sales have fallen this year.
“Compared to last year, the prices are higher. Not very much, but they are, they are. The Easter meal will cost more anyway,” said a customer.
“Whoever knows what it’s like to work in the country won’t say it’s expensive,” said another. Producers also say they expect prices to rise further in the coming period.
