in the UK
In Greece in 2026. A 3 month price cap on staples, to prevent profiteering, was introduced in March 2026.
I’m trying to only post stories from credible sources that do not have paywalls. All the credible Canadian stories I have found so far, about proposed price caps have paywalls.
It was never going to be a starter in the UK. We do have price caps on energy costs but the energy companies generally do not have a convincing stance of self-regulation. If I ever become “UK Dictator in Chief”, I would bring them all back into public ownership on Day 1.
I am always amazed how fixed prices are in Switzerland. It’s the opposite of Canada and the USA.
The price of the same chocolate bar seems to be pretty much the same price at every grocery store in Switzerland. Of course, their prices are so high compared to everywhere else, so it’s not like they are getting an especially good deal. I suppose at least everyone is being gouged at the same rate. I’m a natural comparison shopper and price checker, so I can’t but notice when the prices are all the same!
Canada would (edit: will - it’s happening apparently )screw up govt run grocery stores. I like the Greek approach, of penalizing privately run grocery stores whose profit is exceeding the previous year’s average profit for all grocery stores. Also, having the caps run for 3 months at a time, depending on the current economy, makes sense to me.
I guess Toronto is going ahead with some city-run stores.
https://chatelaine.com/food/toronto-run-grocery-stores/
Sounds like some will open spring of 2027 in Toronto.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/public-grocery-stores-9.7168321
Back in the early 80s, I worked for one of the divisions of the CWS - the wholesale arm of the retail Co-operative stores. My recollection from then, probably still holding true, was that there were a batch of grocery items that were standard purchases for most folk - 1kilo bag of sugar for example. The sort of standard purchases where folk knew what the price was, so all the supermarkets kept to the price. No competition with those maybe 50 items.
well, sometimes things really are not so bad . . .
here we have minimum prices - enforced by law . . .
Canadians pay no GST Federal Sales Tax on a list of staples including meat, veg, fruit, sugar, eggs, bread. The prices for those goods can vary a lot. The sales tax is applied to processed frozen foods, chips,/crisps, candy and other treats.
That isn’t really the case in Switzerland - the prices vary from shop to shop like they do in other countries
Most British foodstuffs, that you might buy in a supermarket, are exempt from Value Added Tax (similar to a North American sales tax - standard rate is 20%). Some “luxury” items are not exempt.
The classic case concerns Jaffa Cakes. The law says cakes and plain biscuits are exempt. But if biscuits have a chocolate topping that turns them into a luxury item.
McVities , who made Jaffa cakes on the other side of my town , challenged the taxman arguing that a Jaffa Cake was indeed a cake. The story’s here -
I remember the Jaffa Cake controversy!
It’s become easy to find the tasty Polish version of Jaffa Cakes here. Much easier to find and much cheaper than the Original Gangster Jaffa Cakes from the UK. I was mesmerized by the idea of Jaffa Cakes, which were mentioned in a CS Lewis or Enid Blyton story I read as a kid. Can’t remember which book. I don’t think I tried a Jaffa Cake until I was 17 or 18.
