Czech Christmas dinner rates among world's least expensive

The Czech Republic has one of the least expensive Christmas dinners among countries that celebrate the holiday, according to an informal survey of traditional Christmas dinner prices recently conducted by investment service eToro.

According to the survey, based on average prices found between November 21 and 24, the average cost of a traditional Christmas dinner this year across 12 countries included in the survey ranges between a hefty 57.5 euros (1,618 crowns) in Germany and 22.3 euro (628 crowns) in Romania.

The Czech Republic was not included in the survey, but local news server iDnes.cz pegs the cost of a Czech Christmas dinner of fish soup, carp, and potato salad at 654 crowns in 2022. That would place it just a few crowns higher than Romania for the cheapest Christmas dinner among the countries in the eToro survey.

The survey showcases how much food prices have risen across the past year, and how some countries are paying significantly more than others for their traditional meal.

“Families across the world are all feeling the impact of food prices that have surged well ahead of already high inflation this year, and our global study demonstrates the effect that this will have on Christmas dinners," says eToro Global Markets Strategist Ben Laidler.

“What the price data also shows is that many inflationary pressures are local, with big cost differences between countries, some of which border each other. One thing for certain is that traditional poultry dishes – be it goose or turkey – ramp up the cost of Christmas dinners with prices feeling the pressure of recent avian flu culls across Europe. We may see this drive demand for cheaper sources of protein this Christmas.”

For the survey, analysts looked at the average prices of ingredients for each country's traditional Christmas dinner in local supermarkets. While many countries included in the survey had similar meals, their prices varied considerably.

In the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Spain, for example, the traditional Christmas meal analyzed by eToro consists of turkey and trimmings. But the average prices for that meal in local supermarkets ranged from a hefty 52.5 euros (1,477 crowns) in Spain to nearly half that cost, 28 euros (788 euros), in the UK.

Germany, which traditionally has goose for Christmas dinner, saw the highest prices in the survey. Carp prices in the Czech Republic, meanwhile, keep costs of the average Czech Christmas meal at less than half of that of our neighbor.

Still, that doesn't mean that Czech fisheries haven't been affected by growing costs. Year-on-year inflation in the Czech Republic is still hovering at around 15 percent, and carp prices are up about 25 percent year-on-year according to local producer Rybářství Třeboň, now sitting at about 140 crowns per kilogram.