Greeks consume 27% less food, Bank of Greece survey finds

Bank of Greece (BoG) study reveals a collapse in Greeks’ net wealth, assets, income and consumption of goods and services.

One of the most shocking findings in the report is that annual food consumption by Greek households dropped by a staggering 27%. Savings decreased by a large margin between 2009 and 2014, with 13.5% of those asked saying their income was higher than their expenses, compared to 21.9% in 2009.

The data is a reflection of the regression of productive activity at a micro-economic level in the Greek economy during the years of the crisis. According to the findings of the survey, which has reached the completion of its second stage -one remaining stage will be completed from data in 2017- based on the Household Finance and Consumption Survey – HFCS, the median value of the net income of households had dropped by a dramatic 40%, a significant shift according to one of the authors, Evangelos Charalambakis an economist for the BoG.

Besides the fall in net wealth of households, the median annual household income also declined by 26% in the period 2009-2014. Falling income and the imposition of taxes also hit the consumption of households considerably.