The more attractive prices continue to lead Portuguese people to cross the border to shop in Spanish supermarkets, but the difference has faded and is only felt in some products, such as hygiene products or detergents, several consumers told Lusa.
If going to a supermarket still generates some savings for the Portuguese that Lusa found next to a large area in Ayamonte, in the south of Spain, separated from the eastern Algarve by the Guadiana river, the same does not happen with fuel, whose prices are currently close to those practiced in Portugal, they pointed out.
“There are some products that really pay off, just remember that VAT in Spain is lower than in Portugal. If you speak to me in general, I would say yes, that it is worth coming here”, said Luís Sampaio de Carvalho, stressing that the price of fuel is “very equal” since, on December 31, the Spanish Government ended the temporary subsidy of 20 cents per liter granted to consumers.
As for supermarket purchases, Luís Sampaio de Carvalho considers that there are certain products, “more for cleaning, for example, products for washing machines, which are cheaper than in Portugal”, a trend that can also be verified, according to this consumer, in fish.
Armando Rodrigues told Lusa's reporting team that he usually "buys a lot of things in Spain, because some things have quality and price" and "there are branded products" that "pay off to buy".
“I can give an example of hygiene products, for example, which are very good and have a more affordable price than in Portugal”, he said, considering that the savings “should be around 10%” if these purchases are made in Spain.
After the end of the subsidy per liter of fuel granted by the Spanish Government, the movement of Portuguese people across the border “is no longer so much” for fuel, “which is equivalent” to the price practiced in Portugal, “but in the food area, in the area of hygiene products", since Spain "has a lot of quality and has the lowest prices", he considered.
Since then, “the only thing that really pays off is gas”, whose cylinder “costs 10 to 12 euros less” than in Portugal, underlined Armando Rodrigues.
For his part, Pedro Vicente, from Castro Verde, told Lusa that, every two months, he travels the approximately 100 kilometers to the border to go shopping in Spain, a movement that “compensates” for “the fuel is also more accessible”. account” and there are products that can be cheaper, such as “pasta, oils, rice, grains, beans, detergents, yoghurt and milk for kids”.
“In all this, in that and in these two [supermarket] carts, maybe we save 100 to 120 euros here, or more”, quantified the same source.
Eliana Gonçalves, who lives on the other side of the river, in Castro Marim, told Lusa that “some [products] are worth it”, but stressed that, currently, the difference to the prices practiced in Portugal is not so significant and the displacement Spain is good for walking around and buying products from brands you like.
“Sometimes it's not just the price, it's the brand, but no. It doesn't make up for everything. At the moment, no ”, he said, also pointing to“ detergents ”or“ shampoos ”as the“ part that most pays off ”to buy in Spain.
The couple Maria Carmo and Custódio Mestre also considered that the “price difference is not much anymore” and the visit to Ayamonte is mainly to buy products that they find in Spain and not in Portugal.
“It must have been three months, perhaps, that I didn’t come to get things here”, acknowledged Custódio Mestre, who carried a whole ham and a bag of dog food in his cart, a product that “is no longer worth it, because it is an 18-kilogram bag and it's almost the same price” as in Portugal, he exemplified.
Comments