Over the past five years, food prices across Europe have climbed sharply, but in most countries minimum wages have risen even faster. A new analysis by Euronews Business of 26 European nations reveals that the lowest-paid workers in the majority of these countries can now afford more groceries than they could in August 2021.
Yet the picture is not uniform. In Malta, a minimum-wage worker can buy roughly 6% less food with their gross pay than five years ago, despite a nominal wage increase. Spain and France also saw declines, with purchasing power falling by 5% and 4% respectively.
Food price rises across the continent
According to Eurostat, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices across the EU rose by 34% between August 2021 and August 2026. Hungary saw the steepest increase in the bloc at 57%, followed by Bulgaria (54%) and Romania (53%). Cyprus recorded the smallest rise at 21%. Among a wider group of 35 European countries, Switzerland saw the lowest increase at just 5%.
Turkey stands out as an extreme outlier, with food prices soaring by 752% over the same period. This reflects years of high inflation, driven in part by a sharp depreciation of the lira, which made imports and inputs more expensive. The currency's decline was exacerbated by a series of interest rate cuts beginning in 2021, even as inflation accelerated. Turkey reversed course in 2023 with sharp rate hikes, but price pressures persisted.
Food inflation was already underway in the EU before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war intensified the problem by pushing up energy, fertiliser, and transport costs, and disrupting agricultural markets, with knock-on effects on supermarket shelves.
Among the EU's largest economies, food prices rose by 25% in France, 30% in Italy, 34% in Germany, and 35% in Spain between August 2021 and August 2026.
Minimum wage trends
Monthly gross minimum wages also increased over the same period in most countries with a statutory minimum wage. Hungary led the EU with a 93% rise, while Germany saw a 46% increase, Spain 29%, and France 20% (measured in local currencies). Turkey recorded the largest jump among all countries compared, at 823%, with Serbia (103%) and Montenegro (102%) also more than doubling.
But higher nominal wages do not automatically translate into greater food affordability. The analysis measures how many baskets of food a monthly gross minimum wage could buy in August 2021 versus August 2026, offering a clearer picture than simply subtracting inflation rates—especially in high-inflation environments like Turkey.
In Turkey, the minimum wage rose by 823% and food prices by 752%, a difference of 71 percentage points, yet the actual increase in food purchasing power was only 8%. Both wages and prices climbed steeply in lira terms, with wages edging ahead.
Serbia and Montenegro saw the largest gains in food purchasing power, with minimum-wage earners able to buy 37% more food than in 2021. Croatia, Albania, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Lithuania all recorded increases of more than 20%. Ireland saw a 10% rise, Germany 9%, Greece 7%, Belgium and the Netherlands 6%, and Portugal 3%.
The analysis does not account for taxes, rent, or other living costs, so the actual disposable income left for groceries may differ. Still, the overall trend across most of Europe is that minimum wages have kept pace with or outpaced food inflation, offering some relief to the lowest-paid workers.
For more on how energy costs are affecting food prices across the continent, see this expert warning. And for a look at how fuel prices are straining rural businesses, read this report.
