Germany Part 6 - A tale of Banana

Viktualienmarkt, Munich

I bought this 4 pieces of bananas in Viktualienmarkt in Munich. It cost me about 4.5 Euro, which is equivalent to S$6.75 (at 1.5 exchange rate). In Singapore, the 4 pieces of bananas would probably cost S$1.50. In other words, it was 4.5 times more expensive in Germany than in Singapore. I bought it out of mistake because the display sign was in German and it showed 2 Euro. I realized that it was possibly 2 Euro per unit weight. (maybe 2 euro per 100 gram).

With this expensive bananas, I started to think about some facts about Germany. In Germany, the consumption tax (value added tax) is 19% except for certain products.

The minimum wage in Germany is 1473 Euro (as at Jan 2015). The average gross and net salaries are 2977 and 1889 Euro respectively (as at 2013 from wikipedia). The income tax rate for a person earning 100,000 Euro annually is about 42% (after deductions and relief).

A typical meal consisting of fast food including drinks is between 4 Euro to 10 Euro. I had a Subway burger with drink for 3.99 Euro (promotion).

It appears that the cost of living in Germany is not low. However, I am sure that there are ways in which the locals can save through experience. Example, through purchase in supermarket. Even for their trains for transport, there are cheaper means for locals. For Arts museum visits, if one purchases ticket on Sunday, the ticket will only be 1 Euro.

Germany is the most powerful economic country in Europe. It did it through its industry, well known products and an efficient labour force.

Lastly, it could be that banana was a off season fruit and that Viktualienmarkt is a tourist market.