Where’s cheapest for fruit and veg in Spain? The greengrocer, the market or the supermarket

A Spanish greengrocer’s video of potatoes at €0.99 a kilo in her shop and €1.95 at the supermarket has people questioning where they should shop. The cheapest bagged potatoes at the big chains cost about the same, so the real saving depends on what items you compare. 

Her potatoes cost almost half the supermarket’s

The greengrocer, who posts as @frutasflorez, compared five everyday items in a video on social media. Her potatoes were €0.99 a kilo against €1.95 at a supermarket, while Canary Island bananas cost €1.10 against €2.50 at Mercadona, red plums €1.35 against €3 and courgettes €1.25 against €1.50.

It’s only one shop’s post though, and not a survey, and only the banana prices are tied to a named chain. It shows what one greengrocer charges for the products she picked, not what every fruit shop in Spain does. However, most local fruit and veg shops across Spain have competitive prices compared to large supermarket chains.

A bag of potatoes in a supermarket can often cost the same

Although those greengrocers can have competitive prices, price trackers that follow the big chains’ online shelves put the cheapest bag of potatoes at €0.63 a kilo at Lidl, €0.75 at Dia and €0.79 at Ahorramás on Wednesday November 4, with Carrefour, Alcampo and Mercadona all at around €1. Those are online prices, which can differ later on in store. 

So her €0.99 is level with a supermarket bag, which suggests the €1.95 in her video is for a loose, washed or premium line, though the post doesn’t say. Anyone comparing like for like would need to check the same potato in both places.

Why a fruit shop can sometimes beat the shelf

Quality potatoes were trading at around €0.67 a kilo on the wholesale markets this week, and farmers were paid about €0.36 in September after a drought-hit harvest. That leaves a greengrocer room to sell at €0.99, though not much. 

Selling loose helps too, because customers buy only what they need, while supermarkets often sell bags of several kilos that bring the price per kilo down. Fast-selling seasonal stock also helps small shops, whereas rent and staff costs push the other way. VAT doesn’t explain it either, as fruit and vegetables carry the same 4 per cent whichever shop sells them.

What OCU found on price and taste 

The consumer group OCU’s last big comparison of fruit across shop types dates from 2019, covering 67 outlets in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia. Street fruit shops were surveyed, but the published averages were for markets, at €2.73 a kilo against €2.07 in supermarkets. Markets were about a third dearer, although they scored 3.2 out of four for taste and appearance against 2.8. 

It’s an old study of just five fruits, so treat it as a guide to flavour rather than today’s prices. OCU’s latest supermarket survey found shoppers save €1,310 a year on average by choosing the cheapest chain, with fruit and vegetables up 3.5 per cent over the year, so which supermarket you pick matters too.

Fruit shops are losing customers

Greengrocers, markets and other specialist food shops took 24.6 per cent of fresh food sales by value in 2025, down from 25.5 per cent the year before. Supermarkets with a limited range of products rose from 33.3 to 34.5 per cent, and some specialist fruit chains have closed shops. 

Price perception is part of the problem. The co-owner of Fruta House, a modern greengrocer in Madrid’s Malasaña district, said in December she had matched nearby supermarket prices and still expected to close within a month, because “people are very used to shopping in supermarkets”.

How to check which is cheaper for you

Start with the price per kilo rather than the price on the pack, as a five-kilo bag and a loose pile aren’t the same deal. Then check what’s in season, because tomatoes, for example, are up 33 per cent over the year in OCU’s survey.

Ask for loose if you only need a few, use markets and fruit shops for fruit you want ripe and tasty, and keep the supermarket for bagged staples such as potatoes, where the big chains are often hard to beat. 

So before your next shop, write down the price per kilo of the same potatoes at your local greengrocer and your usual supermarket. Do that for a few weeks and you’ll know which one is cheaper for your own basket.