Outdoor Markets Beat Inflation

Buy your fresh fruit and vegetables from the outdoor street markets in Andalucia to beat inflation

By Nick Nutter | Updated 19 Mar 2022 | Andalucia | News | Login to add to YOUR Favourites or Read Later

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Street market in Fuengirola

Have you noticed how, over the last year, how much the price of food has increased in the supermarkets?

National Statistics Institute

The National Statistics Institute (INE) last week reported that:

Spain's consumer price inflation rate stood at 5.5 percent in November 2021, little-changed from a preliminary estimate of 5.6 percent and slightly above October's 5.4 percent. It was the highest rate since September 1992 on the back of a strong recovery in demand, a surge in energy prices, ongoing supply disruptions and a low base year. Main upward pressure came from housing (16.8 percent), transport (13.5 percent) and food (3.3 percent). Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 1.7 percent year on year, compared to a reading of 1.4 percent a month earlier.

The figures however do not give a true picture of how much you have to spend each week in order to maintain your standard of living. As the INE says regarding core inflation:

Core consumer prices in Spain increased 1.70 percent in November of 2021 over the same month in the previous year. In Spain, the core inflation rate tracks changes in prices that consumers pay for a basket of goods which excludes some volatile price items.

Those volatile price items include energy and fresh food so, once again in Spain, we are not being given a true picture.

Cost Cutting at Street Markets

However, there is something you can do yourself to reduce your weekly shopping bill. Buy your fresh fruit and vegetables from the outdoor markets. Because the outdoor traders have far less in the way of overheads, rent, power and so on, compared to supermarkets, they can sell fresh produce far cheaper, up to half the price you would pay elsewhere. As a bonus, much of what you buy is freshly picked and has not been treated to extend its shelf life, or badly stored.

Help Us List all the Street Markets

Many people do not know where their local outdoor markets are or when they are on. Our market survey has had a brilliant response from our readers, but we do need more, particularly in the provinces of Cadiz, Cordoba, Huelva and Seville.

See the list to date here.

If your town or village is listed, great. If not, then please let us know.

All we need is the town and the day of the outdoor market. You can send them using the comment box below or as a reply to the post. Where are your local street markets?

Help us to rejuvenate the outdoor markets and save cash as well.

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