The price of a kebab is rising in Germany. The government is facing pressure to introduce a price cap

The rising price of the döner kebab is leading to calls in Germany for a government subsidy program to keep the popular dish, hit by inflation, affordable. This was reported by The Guardian website.

According to The Guardian, some local politicians have recently commented that the price of a kebab is often mentioned as an issue when talking to voters. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has become so used to being asked about the price of a kebab during public appearances that his government even explains on social networks, including Instagram, that the rise in prices is at least partly caused by rising wages and energy costs.

“It’s quite surprising that wherever I go, people – especially young people – ask me whether there should be a price cap on döner kebab,” Scholz said, according to The Guardian.

The far-left party Die Linke is the latest to take up this topic, and in its proposal it wants to submit to parliament, it demands the introduction of a price limit for dönerpreisbremse, or döner kebab. It is a requirement similar to the one introduced in some parts of the country in order to control high rents, the party claims, adding that in some cities a kebab already costs 10 euros (about 250 CZK). Just two years ago, it was four euros (approx. CZK 100).

The party recommends a maximum price of 4.9 euros (CZK 75). For young people, especially from lower income groups, a meal should cost only 2.9 euros (50 CZK). According to the party, kebab is a daily basis for them. Die Linke even suggests that every household should receive döner vouchers.

“The kebab price brake will help both consumers and kebab shop owners. If the state adds three euros to every kebab, the kebab price brake will cost almost four billion,” said Kathi Gebel, spokeswoman for youth policy of the Die Linke party, according to the Bild tabloid.

Kebab was brought to Germany by Turkish immigrants and adapted to local tastes. In the capital city of Berlin alone, about 1.3 billion döner are eaten annually, which is about 400,000 a day. According to Die Linke’s estimates, such a subsidy program would cost four billion euros a year – the party estimates the volume of finance in the kebab industry in Germany at seven billion euros a year.

Chancellor Scholz ruled out price control as “infeasible in a free market economy”. Instead, he praised “the good work of the European Central Bank in reducing inflation”.