Buying ‘Made in France’ costs more

BUYING French-made goods could cost a household up to €300 extra a month – or €3,770 a year.

A study by economists at international business research group Cepii said up to a quarter of household spending was on imported products but that this allowed shoppers to make significant savings for their budget.

It said that if people bought “Made in France” products rather than identical imported goods then the costs would have a severe impact on their buying power. Buying imported goods cut the price of their household shopping basket.

However, the economists said that it was not a simple price comparison because other factors were involved. They said in the report: “If the French trainers were twice as expensive people would replace them less often.”

Using data from 2010, the study said that the extra cost was most significant for leather-made articles – especially handbags – followed by electrical goods and clothing. China was the biggest source of cheap goods at 71%, followed by India on 10% and Bangladesh on 3%.

The economists said they were not convinced by the argument that buying “Made in France” products helped create jobs as buying more expensive goods reduced people’s purchasing power, meaning they bought less.