In lidl...brocilli, cucumber and tomatoes are99p,

[malificent7]

That is an increase from.around 70p a few weeks ago. In lidl. Very concerning. Anyone else noticed?

Well maybe they are more expensive. My point is that they are still consistently cheaper than France. Go figure.

Sorry but you thought Krakow was cheap?? Perhaps for you on your UK salary but you need to look at the NMW of the country - which is just 30 PLN - £6 - which is half of ours

Cucumber was 90p in M&S when I was in yesterday

Lidl is getting expensive in general. I don't go there as much as I used to because of it.

Yes very good point. People often forget to take things like that into account when making comparisons.

Not if you grow it yourself.

They don't all have significantly higher wages, and Canada is only one of many countries.

However, where I live people tend to eat more seasonally rather than expect to eat the same things all year around for cheap prices. If you want asparagus out of season you buy tinned, there is no other choice.

Yet again, there is a big world outside of Europe.

BetterDeadThanRed
Like where? Incidentally, I just came back from Europe a week ago, visited Paris and Venice, been to supermarkets in both countries. Both cheaper than the UK.

I think it's a shame you were self-catering in Paris and Venice. Or were you not?

The price of Olive oil has shocked me . It was around £3.95 for light Olive Oil in LIDL . It is now over £6.00 !!

Broccoli has been 99p for months, cucumber was 70p 3 weeks ago, haven't bought one since. (Hate tomatoes )

@Autumn1990

What part of America??? I lived in the USA and didn't know anyone canning fruits and veg as even having a window box was a luxury! Gardens if you were lucky enough were postage stamp sized

Well surely the point is that OP is expecting to buy out of season veges for next to nothing. If she is on a strict budget she could try buying seasonal, as others do.

Whether it is helpful or not, you are lucky to pay so little in the UK. Cucumbers here cost more than what OP has quoted and they are in season.

And they have no taste

In the US I just saw an add for cabbage. 59¢ a lb and we are getting close to ST. Patrick Day and the prices should be lower.

It is 11:35 here in Pennsylvania.

I think my point is that two weeks ago. ( not salad season) I paid 69p for a cucumber and on Sunday I paid 99p. That is quite a big jump for a budget super market. I should eat seasonably but I like a massive salad!

But produce prices vary. The fact that you paid a different price 2 weeks ago to today demonstrates that.

On its own, its not evidence that Lidl are profiteering on cucumbers. It's almost certain that the price will fall later in the year when more are available.

Plus it's unlikely that they will overcharge on cucumbers as they're a 'known price item' ie things most people buy regularly, remember the price of and use as a measure of the general pricing levels of a particular shop.

You could decide that 'you might as well shop in Waitrose' if their cucumbers are 10 p cheaper this week, but that would be a fool's errand if you're price sensitive because overall, Waitrose will be more expensive than Lidl unless you shop incredibly carefully and ignore the 90%+ of items that are cheaper in Lidl.

We have become far more selective over what we eat and expect to eat what we would like at any time of the year.

I grew up with keen gardeners as parents and spent many evenings podding peas and preparing runner beans to freeze. My DF grew potatoes, carrots, rubber beans, broad beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, onions, beetroot. Rather than what are we having for dinner the question was what are we going to have with our runner beans or new potatoes or how can we use all the tomatoes.

As a generation we live differently now. My DF had an allotment. I know one person now with an allotment.

If we want to eat a variety of vegetables now we have to be prepared to pay the market price.

Plus if you do grow things, you'll know how much time, effort and luck it takes to grow a meaningful amount. Also you need to spend on seeds, compost, feed etc. Most people won't save any money growing their own, except perhaps things like herbs or tomatoes. I tried to grow broccoli once and unless I wanted to go into the business of breeding butterflies, it was a total non starter.

Well that really depends on what and how you grow. If you don’t have a garden clearly it’s not easy to grow much. If you do then there are lots of things you can grow in amongst other plants which will save you money if you then build meals around them when they’re ready rather than taking the common approach now of “what do you fancy”.

We have a large allotment and grow a lot of fruit, vegetables and flowers for cutting.

I wouldn't say it is a cost saving as no doubt we can buy cheaper. What we can't buy is fresher. And fresher often means better and differently flavoured. Even a humble carrot harvested in the morning will taste different from a carrot bought in the morning.

Home grown strawberries are totally different from shop bought. We grow varieties for flavour and pick for eating that day. It doesn't matter to us that they won't stand a lot of travel or will go off in a couple of days.

I shop at Lidl and have been horrified at how much they have put prices up over the last year. I used to be able to do a weekly shop for my family ( 4 adults) for £70 but now I struggle to stay under £100.

Buy veg/fruit that are in season from the UK instead, it will be cheaper.

Thank you, I often wonder if they are worth it..