THE BIG WHACK
Irish Mcdonald’s is ninth dearest for hamburger
IRELAND is the ninth most expensive country in the world to buy a Big Mac, new findings show.
Data from insurance comparison site Hello Safe reveal we shell out on average €4.50 on the Mcdonald’s burger.
And 17 other nations also charge the same, including Austria, Belgium, France and Spain.
Switzerland is the most expensive place to buy a Big Mac, at an average of €6.35.
And Russia is the cheapest nation to buy the burger, at an average of €1.58.
However, Mcdonald’s temporarily closed its 850 Russian outlets in March due to the Ukraine invasion
and will permanently leave after more than 30 years. It has started to sell its restaurants there.
Analysts suggest that the price of a Big Mac could hit €5 in Ireland by the end of 2022.
A Hellosafe spokesman said: “With the ongoing inflation, the Bic Mac price is likely to increase in a significative
extent during 2022. In the US, the Big Mac price is expected to go past $7 (€6.65) by the end of 2022, a limit never crossed in the recent years.”
The Big Mac Index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a light-hearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level.
In the long run, exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of an identical basket of goods and services in any two countries. Just like the pint of beer or a pack of cigarettes, the Big Mac hamburger is among the world’s products the
most widely distributed and can, therefore, serve as a reference.
Meanwhile, new research also reveals high levels of concern among Irish food businesses, with rising input costs and inflationary pressures seen as the top threats to business growth.
The 2022 SME Food Barometer, published by Love Irish Food and PWC, found that 97% of participants identified rising input costs and inflationary pressures as the biggest obsticles to business growth. Mcdonald’s was contacted for comment.