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Shopping in Neighbouring Countries Not So Favourable Any More
Saturday 13 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 13 (TASR) - After the euro adoption in 2009, Slovaks went shopping to the neighbouring countries to exploit the 10 to 30 percent lower prices than in their home country. "This was fully reflected in the retail sales, which slumped more than in surrounding countries," said UniCredit Bank analyst David Derenik.
More than a year later, however, currencies in surrounding countries have firmed up, with Poland's cheapest zloty appreciating the most, by nearly 20 percent, and Hungary's forint and the Czech Republic's koruna by 13 percent and 8 percent respectively.
With currencies firming, the shopping in surrounding countries ceased to be as favourable. "But it still holds true for food that we can buy the cheapest food in Poland, 12 percent less than in Slovakia. Hungary and the Czech Republic offer average savings by some 6 percent, which doesn't necessarily offset the transportation cost and spell sufficient savings," said the analyst.
Slovaks may purchase cheaper clothing and footwear in Poland and Hungary with 16 percent lower prices than in Slovakia. The Czech Republic is less favourable in this respect.
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