Cyprus's government-backed e-kalathi grocery price-comparison platform has failed to push supermarket prices lower, with the Consumers Association warning on Monday of noticeable price increases and a near-absence of competitive pressure six months after the tool's launch, according to Cyprus Mail.
Survey findings
The Consumers Association surveyed 42 randomly selected products spanning all categories listed on the e-kalathi platform, benchmarking prices recorded this Monday against data from July 2025. The results pointed firmly in the wrong direction for consumers: prices have risen rather than fallen, and genuine competition among supermarkets remains largely absent.
From the recording, the average percentage difference of the most expensive product price compared to the cheapest is 62 per cent,
the association stated, describing that figure as "very high for basic consumer products." In six of the 42 products examined, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive option exceeded 100 per cent.
Little sign of competitive pressure
The association found that competitive dynamics were effectively absent across the majority of participating retailers. "With these data, one cannot claim that there is fierce competition, at least in the products included," it said, adding that genuine price rivalry was visible "only in a small number of supermarkets" on common products listed on the platform. The vast majority of participating supermarkets showed no meaningful competitive behaviour, the association concluded.
One product category illustrated the problem starkly. While the average price difference for fresh pasteurised milk stood at 18 per cent when measured across all supermarkets nationwide, among the three largest chains that figure fell to zero — suggesting the biggest players are moving in lockstep rather than competing on price.
Background
E-kalathi was introduced by the government as a practical tool to help households compare grocery prices across supermarkets, with the explicit aim of encouraging competition and easing cost-of-living pressures. All conclusions in Monday's report were drawn exclusively from prices published on the platform itself, meaning the data reflects what supermarkets have chosen to declare publicly.
The Consumers Association said it would continue to monitor price movements and publish its conclusions transparently as part of ongoing evaluations — a signal that further scrutiny of supermarket pricing behaviour is expected in the months ahead.
