Prices of more than 1,700 grocery and school supplies items fell by an average of 9.5 per cent in Greece on Monday as a government-backed measure kicked in to confront concerns over purchasing power. The measure “provides relief to households and citizens confronted with the high cost of living,” said Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos. The price reductions will be in place in the EU nation until the end of the year, the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted in a statement. The conservative Mitsotakis is seeking a third mandate in legislative elections due in the spring next year, and on Sunday he spoke of the measure as providing temporary relief for Greeks faced with high grocery prices and housing costs while salaries remain low. “This is not a solution for all of the problems weighing on household budgets today. But it provides concrete relief,” Mitsotakis said on Facebook. The measure adds to a reduction of 10 cents per litre on petrol and five cents per litre on diesel which has been in place for two months. The Greek economy took a major hit from the decade-long debt crisis that began in 2008, with earnings failing to keep pace with the rest of the EU. Annual inflation ran at 3.3 percent in July in Greece, according to Eurostat data, as the war in the Middle East continues to push energy prices higher. According to the Greek statistics agency Elstat annual food price inflation ran at 2.7 percent in June.
