In kind... luxury tends to turn the sandwich with gyros in Thessaloniki, since prices in many restaurants "touch" 4 euros.
The revaluation of many raw materials, the increase in the price of meat recorded recently and the high operating costs of businesses have resulted in prices rising and the favourite "fast" food of Greeks becoming less affordable for many people. In fact, the effects are evident in consumption as well, as industry professionals note that orders become smaller and more sparse as time goes by.
Indicative is that, according to the report of protothema.gr, increases range from 10 to 15% and as a result, the consumer currently buys a round in a pie from 3.50 to 3.90 euros, while the price for a souvlaki in a sandwich has risen from 3.10 to 3.50 euros.
As explained to protothema.gr, businessman and member of the Thessaloniki Catering Initiative Nikos Nifoudis, the prices of raw materials have increased to a great extent, but they have not yet stabilized and from week to week are different. He estimates that, in case there is no serious reduction, the price for a sandwich with a round will stabilize at 4 euros, as professionals are unable to keep prices lower when the increase in the cost of raw materials alone reaches 40-50%.gr that the professionals of the sector have absorbed to the greatest extent the revaluations that have been made in raw materials and the large increase in operating costs, so that prices have been kept at these levels.
"The increase that exists in raw materials and energy is about 40%, while the increase that the consumer sees is 10% in sandwiches and 7-8% in restaurants. The restaurant industry has, once again, absorbed the increases as there is no business, no consumer movement and hence professionals cannot make increases," he said. According to him, the prices of the traditional sandwich with gyro that consumers find are more increased in the well-known deli platforms, rather than in physical stores where consumers can buy it even for 3.30 euros.
However, in most shops in the center of Thessaloniki, it is now very difficult for consumers to find the classic "pitogiro" under 3.70 euros, while in many shops it "touches" 4.00 euros. A sandwich costs around EUR 0,20-0,30 cheaper in the district grill shops of western and eastern Thessaloniki.
Increase in souvlaki
According to Dimitris Eikosidio, owner of a restaurant shop in the centre of Thessaloniki, it is very difficult to talk about a "standard" price for souvlaki as it depends on the quality that each professional chooses and the quantity he puts in each sandwich.
"Since 2003, when the shop opened, we have a 90-gram pork skewer with a "standard" recipe. We used to sell it for 1.10 euros per "straw" and today we sell it for barely 2.30 euros, when we should have made it 2.70 euros because of the increases. At the moment, we buy meat at close to EUR 6 per kilo and it is considered quite good quality. The sandwich with souvlaki we give 3.60 euros, "says protothema.gr the well-known shopkeeper, noting that prices are constantly changing with suppliers. "If you come to the shop to order, because we grill them and they are about 8 minutes late, you can, for example, buy a product at 3 euros and as soon as we serve it to you it is 50 cents more expensive," says Mr. Eikosidios humorously, wanting, of course, to show the current situation.
"The increases made in raw materials in recent times have been very high. In fact, we had reached the point where we were not interested in the price but in finding the product, as there was a very big shortage of products and we were facing a problem."
In terms of purchasing activity, Mr. Eikosidios points out that it has decreased to 1/3 compared to 2019, while the company's electricity bill is three times higher compared to two years ago.
20% increase in pork - 30% in beef
"Compared to this time last year, pork has increased by 15-20% and it is the meat that went up the least of all. Calves have already reached 30% and chickens have exceeded 20%," said to protothema.gr, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Butcher Shopkeepers, Savvas Kessidis.
As he explained, in winter prices for pork are more "restrained" compared to the summer season when tourism opens and prices increase every year. "This was not the case last year, as prices were 'held' and went up a little more. But if there is demand this year, especially with the tourist areas, prices will go up. If there is no such demand, they will remain stable at the increased rate we mentioned earlier," he said.
Source: protothema.gr
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