Three months ago I did a post for the Hive PPP Index V2 and asked people to price a basket of goods from their country. The idea was to see how the price differs across countries for the same product. Due to no reason other than laziness on my part, it has taken me a long time to write up the results. I could have pretended to forget all about this, but everything lives on the blockchain, and I like to preserve what little reputation I have on Hive and deliver what I said I will do😊 Finally, I sat down this week to analyse the inputs and present to you the Hive PPP Index V2.
First of all, I want to thank everyone who took time to provide their input. As a thank you, I will be sending 5% of this post reward to each of the following
@nathen007 - Thailand @lizelle - South Africa @softhana - Venezuela @brunettedev, @nanixxx, @mdrguez - Cuba @ladyaryastark - Paraguay @seattlea, @mrsbozz, @greensandpinks - USA @palomap3, @mipiano - Spain @godfish - Czech Republic @duskobgd - Serbia @Stresskiller - Netherlands @cwow2 - Denmark @tengolotodo - UK
Overall results
I received 18 data points from 12 countries for the 12 items on my list. All prices are converted to USD for ease of comparison. Due to the time lag from when the data was received two months ago, it is possible the prices may be out of date due to inflation and exchange rates, particularly for countries like Cuba and Venezuela.
The total price for the basket of 12 items range from the most expensive USD212 in Washington State in America, to the cheapest USD23.96 in Cuba. When I did the last Hive PPP Index the same two locations came top and bottom.
There are three inputs from north America, Washington state in NW (@seattlea), Texas in the south (@greensandpinks) and Michgan on the mid west (@mrsbozz). This gives a good indication of the difference across America with a price range of $97 to $212. We will look at where the price differences come from in a minute.
In UK there was myself in the south, and @tengolotodo from Scotland in the north. Scotland is £73.79 compared to £53.75 in the south, that's like 1/3 difference.
We have 5 countries from Europe, with Denmark (@cwow2) being the most expensive at $90.45. That's not too surprising, as the Nordic countries are generally known to be quite expensive. Next most expensive is Netherlands (@stresskiller) at $71.54. That's around the same price as Scotland. For the other three European countries, Czech Republic (@godfish) was $58.17, Serbia (@duskobgd) $54.23, and the two inputs for Spain from @palomap3 and @mipiano were around the same at the $43-$45 mark.
Moving to central and south America, I received 3 inputs from Cuba. @mdrguez gave me her prices in USD and @brunettedev and @nanixxx in the local currency CUP. I googled the exchange rate and got $ : 24 CUP. Using that exchange rate, @brunettedev and @nanixxx prices came out more than 10x more expensive than @mdrguez, and even more expensive than America. Something is wrong!! I checked the inputs again and discovered that @nanixxx had given me the informal exchange rate. The CUP is pegged to the USD by the government at 25 CUP, but the informal rate is a lot different. In July this year it was 385, and today it is 460! Using the July informal rates, the three Cuba input are now more in sync between $24 to $32. @ladyaryastark sent me her prices for Paraguay and @softhana from Venzuela. Both were a little more expensive than Cuba.
And finally Asia and South Africa. It was nice to get an input for Asia this time for Thailand (@nathen007), at $44.95 it's around the same price as Spain. The finally South Africa (@lizelle) is more or less in line with European prices at $54.
One month mobile phone plan with 5GB data
The first item is, in my opinion, the most important for the Hive PPP Index, or rather for Hive. It's the only means to get online for most people, particularly if you're on the go. Mobiles are very expensive in America, but I was very surprised at how expensive it is in NW America. I'm not sure if that includes the cost of the handset bundled in with the monthly service charge, or just the latter.
Cuba is very cheap, that's great news, but the issue is more to do with availability than cost. Both @mdrguez and @nanixxx advised that you can only buy 6GB per month at 360 CUP, which is less than a USD. If you want to buy more, it's going to cost you 20x more!
One liter of standard unleaded petrol/gas
In the last Hive PPP Index, I discussed the reasons for price parity for petrol/gas across countries. Overall, the price hasn't changed much over time, which is good, given that inflation is rife all around.
Crude oil is a global commodity and will be the same for every country. What drives the final pump price includes things like duty and taxes, distribution and logistic costs, profit and exchange rate etc.
500g of pasta
Not too much difference in price around the world, apart from NW America, which is 3x more expensive!!
6 eggs
The thing with eggs, is there can be a big difference in the prices depending on what kind of eggs you buy. For example, there's at 20% difference in the two Spanish prices. I like to buy better quality golden yolk organic eggs because my husband likes eggs. They're can be 30% more expensive than basic eggs.
One kg flour
Us Brits love baking, I don't know if that drives up the price of flour in the UK. In Thailand, I know @nathen007 has been doing a lot of baking in his new kitchen using good quality imported flour from Korea, hence the high price. I was surprised that @nanixxx pays $2.23 per kg for flour, maybe you should ask where your compatriot buys theirs ...
One kg minced beef/pork
America and Denmark lead here again. And surprisingly (or not?), Venezuela is expensive, around the same price as what I and @lizelle pay in UK and South Africa respectively.
One kg of potatoes
Potatoes are very expensive in Cuba when it is out of season. @mdrguez says you have to pay USD6 for frozen pre-fried packages when they're not in harvest. They are very cheap in Paraguay, Serbia and Czech republic, good for @ladyaryastark, @godfish and @duskobgd if it's part of your staple diet.
One pack of 12 roll toilet paper
This is a new item I added for this version because it is an important item in our daily life and I think it deserves a place in the Hive PPP Index. Do you remember how everyone was hoarding toilet paper during Covid!!! There is a wide variety of toilet paper available in the market so I would expect to see price differences here. NW America is the most expensive, but I was a little surprised that UK is more expensive than the rest of Europe, including Denmark.
One litre of fresh milk
The outlier here is Cuba, @mdrguez advised "Here it is practically impossible to buy, only in some rural areas. Powdered milk is generally consumed." And it cost $5.5 for a 1kg bag. In America, it's a bit more expensive in Texas because it seems @greensanspinks buys the smaller containers. She said you can get the larger containers at 4x volume for around the same price. This is what @mrsbozz from Michigan buys hence the big price difference. The index asks for what you would normally buy, not necessarily the cheapest.
What surprised me most was that there wasn't much price variation across all the other countries. The range from $1 to $2 per litre.
Two litre bottle of Coca Cola or soft drink
Coca cola is one of the biggest global consumer brand and I figured it would be a good indicator to measure global prices. However, Cuba is one of the two countries where it's not officially available. @brunettedev pays over $6 for a 2 litre bottle, so maybe that's from the unofficial market? @stresskiller pays quite a lot for his bottle in the Netherlands, as does @seattlea in NW USA, but we already know the poor guy pays a lot more than everyone else for nearly everything.
6 can of beer
Same goes for beer, @seattlea ever thought of moving 😉? @tengolotodo pays quite a lot for a 6 pack in Scotland UK. But then, it depends which brand you buy, whether it's local or imported, or craft beer can be quite expensive.
Cinema ticket to watch a blockbuster movie
And finally, I've included what I classify as a "luxury" item. The folks from America will be glad to know you don't top the league table here. Denmark, Netherlands, and surprisingly Scotland in UK all cost around $20 for a cinema ticket. When you add in popcorns and a soft drink for you and +1, it can become quite an expensive night out. The Cubans will be glad here, I hope you can enjoy an affordable and enjoyable night out
admist the challenges in life.
Conclusion
I hope you have found the Hive PPP Index informative and that it gives you a bit more insight into the lives of our fellow Hivers around the world. Of course, it only looks at things from one perspective, and ignores other crucial things such as wages, taxes and other cost of living, so please bear that in mind.
If you think there would be other items that could be included in the Hive PPP Index please let me know and I will look into it if and when I do the next version.