Inflation is driving more Salzburg residents to Bavaria
A look at the Bavarian supermarket shelves pays off, many Salzburg customers are nevertheless convinced. According to Statistics Austria, the most recent price increase is particularly noticeable in weekly shopping. Because the price level of the mini-shopping basket, which includes fuel in addition to food and services, has risen by 18.8 percent year-on-year.
“It’s cheaper here and the quality is also good, sometimes better than here. Here I can get a shopping trolley for 100 euros, over there I get half a trolley,” says Hermann Walter from Salzburg. For many Salzburgers, however, shopping in Freilassing is also a kind of tradition. “If the weather isn’t so nice, we automatically drive over to Freilassing and see what’s new and it’s a bit cheaper than here,” says Erich Huber from Linz.
Larger price differences only for a few products
Cosmetics and hygiene items in particular are cheaper in Bavaria, and milk prices have also been a major topic in the past few days, because the milk produced in Salzburg was offered 56 cents cheaper in Germany. According to those responsible, there were many reasons for this. One of them is the tax, which differs by six percent for dairy products. But fuel has also become so expensive that it never pays to drive over, says Christine Bierfeld from Elixhausen (Flachgau).
Incidentally, diesel was the same on both sides of the border on Saturday, while petrol in Germany was a good ten cents cheaper. According to the Chamber of Commerce in Salzburg, there is no indication in Salzburg that more people from Salzburg are now going to do their weekly shopping in Bavaria. After the refugee crisis, the border controls and the pandemic, the Freilassing economy is already observing that more Austrians are coming across the border again, says Anni Klinger from the Freilassing Economic Forum.
“Prices are rising everywhere, and it’s nice that refueling is a little cheaper here. We’re seeing more Austrian vehicles there, and of course you can see that in retail,” says Klinger.