Telegram's price comparison in Muggia and Pula reveals drastic differences: Vanish gel in Italy €3.99, in Croatia €9.49. VAT difference is only three percent, and purchasing power is incomparably lower.
Shopping for identical products within 24 hours, less than 30 kilometers apart, has exposed how much more Croatian consumers pay compared to their Italian neighbors. Telegram's "parallel shopping" conducted on August 3 at the Famila store in Muggia, in the Italian part of Istria, and the following day at two retail chains in Pula, revealed differences reaching up to 138 percent.
The most drastic example is Vanish Oxy Action gel: it costs €3.99 in Italy and a whopping €9.49 in Croatia. Other products are not far behind. Valfrutta passata (700g) sells for €1.25 in the Italian supermarket, while in Pula it costs €2.69-a difference of €1.44. A pack of four Rio Mare tuna cans in olive oil (80g each) is €6.29 in Italy and €7.69 in Croatia.
Barilla penne rigate pasta (500g) costs just €0.99 in Muggia, while the same product in Croatia is €2.06-more than double. Scotti Carnaroli rice reaches an incredible €7.28 in Croatia, while in Italy it sells for €3.19. Another brand, Gallo Carnaroli, is €2.89 in Muggia, which is €4.39 less than in Pula.
The argument that Italian products are cheaper because they are domestic does not hold water. Slovenian beer Laško, brewed in Croatia, costs €0.99 in Muggia and €1.29 in Pula. Milka chocolate with hazelnuts, which is produced in neither Italy nor Croatia, costs Italians €1.65 and Croats €2.49.
When it comes to coffee, the difference is particularly telling: a 250g pack costs €7.79 in Croatia, while a pack of two 250g packs (500g total) of Pellini brand coffee in Italy costs €8.50. So, double the quantity for only ten percent more. Mascarpone (250g) is one euro more expensive in Croatia.
The VAT rate in Italy is 22 percent, very close to Croatia's 25 percent, but this does not explain why Dash laundry gel (23 washes) costs €7.90 in Italy and €12.99 in Croatia-a difference of €5.09. Pronto furniture polish is €4.69 in Italy and €6.08 in Croatia. Parodontax toothpaste is on average two euros more expensive in Croatian stores.
These differences come at a time when inflation in Croatia, according to the Croatian National Bank's analysis, stands at 3.9 percent year-on-year in July, marking the third consecutive month of slowdown. Measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices, annual inflation was 3.6 percent, while the eurozone average for the same month was 2.9 percent. The annual growth rate of food prices fell from 1.8 percent in June to 0.5 percent in July, but this is not yet felt on the shelves.
Certain categories of groceries in Croatian stores are more expensive than in wealthier EU member states, and the problem is further deepened by a drastic gap in purchasing power: the basic food basket in Croatia takes up a significantly larger share of household monthly income. Food prices in Croatia have already reached the level of Germany, where the minimum wage equals the Croatian average salary.
