More than 40% of the money Romanians spend goes on food

Romanians spent on food 41.6% of all the money destined for consumption in 2015, down by 1.8 percentage points compared to 2014, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS). The lower share of food expenses in the local households’ budget was due to the VAT rate cut on food in June 2015, which made food and non-alcoholic beverages cheaper in Romania and allowed consumers to spend more on other items. The non-food expenses accounted for 31.5% of the total consumption spending last year, up from 30.2% in 2014. About 26.9% of the Romanian households’ average monthly consumption budget went on service expenses, up 0.5 percentage points compared to 2014. The average monthly revenue of Romania households in 2015 was little over EUR 600, 7.5% higher compared to 2014, and the average expenses were EUR 530, up 3.6%. The average consumption spending per household was EUR 383, or over three-quarters of the total expenses, INS data shows. Consumption eats three-quarters of average household income in Romania editor@romania-insider.com