Despite the fact that e-kalathi is almost six months into its implementation, the indications so far lead us to conclude that it has largely failed to achieve its goals, the Cyprus Consumers Association reports.
In a statement, the Association says that e-kalathi has been operational since June 2025 with the aim of offering consumers a useful and practical tool that would help them on the one hand in choosing the cheapest supermarket or prices and on the other hand would help, through healthy competition, to reduce prices.
At the same time, the Cypriot Consumers' Association characterizes as not a positive development the reduction it observes in the percentage of the difference in the total cost of 200 common products between the supermarket with the highest total cost and the supermarket with the lowest total cost.
This reduction, according to a statement from the Association, "seems to be more due to the increase in the prices of the supermarket with the lowest total cost and not to the decrease in the prices of the supermarket with the highest cost".
Specifically, it states that in July 2025 the percentage was 13%, in August 11.7%, in September 9.3%, in October 6% and in November 5.8%.
In relation to key observations from the November 2025 price observatory, the Cyprus Consumers Association states that it is observed that there are large hypermarkets with pan-Cypriot store coverage whose total number of products contained in e-kalathi is very small.
He adds that the very small number of products contained in e-kalathi limits consumer choice.
It also mentions that in November the price differentiation between the same stores of the same supermarket continued in some supermarkets and adds that this differentiation did not exist until August 2025.
In addition, it reports that personal care items showed the largest increase in November, averaging 2.5%. The category with "other bakery items" showed the largest decrease in November which was an average of 3.5%.
Finally, the Cyprus Consumers Association reports that there is a continuous decrease in the percentage difference in the total cost of common products between the supermarket with the highest total cost and the supermarket with the lowest total cost.
