Swiss meat the most expensive, more than the average worldwide

Online catering marketplace, Caterwings, have conducted a study regarding the global price of basic food items, as preliminary research ahead of their expansion into foreign markets. The research highlighted in particular that the cost of meat around the world is remarkably varied. To share these insights, Caterwings have released the 2017 Meat Price Index, which details the cost of meat in over 50 countries worldwide. The study revealed that Switzerland has the highest meat prices, at 141.9% more expensive than the average cost worldwide, followed by Norway (63.7% more expensive) and Hong Kong (61% more expensive), while Ukraine has the least expensive meat prices, at 52.3% less expensive than the average cost, closely followed by Malaysia (50.3% less expensive).

In Indonesia, people have to toil for 23.6 hours to purchase the same amount of beef as in Switzerland, though there it costs just $9.01. Buying a kilo of chicken breast in Indonesia involves 7.3 hours of work.

To give some perspective to the data, the affordability of meat in each country was calculated to reveal the relative number of hours a person on minimum wage must work to buy each type of meat. The findings confirmed that not only does the price of meat vary massively from country to country, but there is also an enormous disparity in its accessibility for people all around the world.

The 2017 Meat Price Index is a foray into the study of relative price levels of goods and labor. According to publisher Caterwings, the cost of beef, fish, chicken, pork and lamb in each country’s biggest cities were compared to the minimum wage and then calculations were run for affordability. In those where there is no federal statutory minimum, it used the average pay for unskilled labor.

“What began as a simple catering cost price Index for market research has raised some important questions.” commented Caterwings Managing Director, Susannah Belcher. “It is clear that international inequality exists, and as the world begins to rethink the implications of globalisation, this study clearly demonstrates that food prices ought to be on the agenda.”