5 November 1995: A Fistful of Lei

by Scott Pusich

Hello to the ever-expanding audience reading my reports. I'm happy I haven't bored anyone too much (yet!). This week I turn to the long-awaited shopping list--"How much is that salami in the window, Sir?" (Cit costa acel salam in vitrina, Domnule?). If you go shopping here, you'll need a fistful of lei. It helps to have mostly 500 and 1000-lei notes, since many of the items on the list won't cost more than 1000 lei per person per week. As mentioned already, fruits and vegetables tend to be sold in the outdoor markets, bread and dairy in special shops, and everything else generally in the larger shops. Shoppers here also carry bags with them, as they aren't given out free with every trip to the store as they are in the U.S. I regret not bringing a strong canvas bag with me.

A few brief words before the list--the government recently raised the prices on many basic goods and services, like gasoline and telephone calls. So the prices on many other things, including food, are likely to go up in the next few months as well. The trams and buses have already gone up from 400 lei to 500 for a round trip. This is about the same in dollar terms, though, due to the steady decline of the leu against the dollar. It was just over 2000 when I arrived, and now it's almost at 2300 (the base rate--some exchange houses are offering 2500). So a round-trip bus or tram ticket is now (again) 20 cents.

Now the rundown on the prices (preturi)! Drumroll, please...


Beef              5000-7000 per kilo (depending on quality)
Pork              7000-8000/kg
Chicken           3500-4000/kg
Ham (processed)   10000-12000/kg
Salami!           10000-20000/kg
Sausage/Franks    7000-8000/kg
Cascaval Cheese   6000-6500 (A Romanian specialty)

Potatoes          700-800/kg (winter staple)
Carrots           600-700/kg
Onions            600-700/kg
Garlic            300-400 for 100g bunch
Radishes          400-500 for 250g bunch
Cabbage           400-500/kg (winter staple)
Tomatoes          1000-1200/kg (in season--they're gone now!)
Peppers           1000-1200/kg (not much longer)
Apples            700-800/kg
Bananas           1800-2000/kg (imported, of course!)
Oranges           2000-2200/kg (see bananas)
Walnuts           1000-1100/kg

Bread ***         350-400 a loaf (fresh baked, usually bought daily)
Butter            2000-2100 for 200g
Margarine         700-800 for 200g
Jam               2000-4000 for 250g (depending on quality)
Bread ring        200-250 (common snack)
Cheese pastry     400-500 (hot cascaval filling, also a common snack)

Mineral Water     300-400 for a one-liter bottle
Coke/Fanta        1250-1300/lit
Wine (table)      3000-5000/0.75 lit
Wine (vintage)    10000+/0.75 lit (depending on vintage!)
Champagne         8000-10000/0.75 lit
Beer (local)      1000-1200/0.5 lit ('Moldova' is the local stuff)
Beer (imported)   1500-3000/0.5 lit (Heineken is common)		
Pizza (slice)     1200-2000 (in cafes and pizzerias)

Sunflower Oil     1300-1400/0.5 lit (used for cooking and salads)
Sugar             2000-2200/kg
Flour             800/kg
Cornmeal          400/kg (for mamaliga!  A type of porridge)

Cigarettes        300-500/pack (local brands such as Carpati)
                  1500-1700/pack (middle brands such as Assos)
                  2500-4000/pack (imports such as Malboro and Kent)
About this last item, I haven't taken up smoking, but in general it is much more common (and much less proscribed) in Romania than the United States. So the price of cigarettes is a major concern. Those who can afford to smoke the imported brands, while the less affluent smoke Carpati. Sunflower seeds and popcorn are the most common 'finger foods' sold by pushcart vendors.

Just for reference, the beginning salary of a high school teacher is 170,000-180,000 lei per month (about $ 75) and that of a beginning university professor 180,000-200,000 lei per month (about $ 80-90). The average pensioner receives 120,000-150,000 (about $ 50-60).

Autumn seems to have ended early this year. The first snow fell Sunday night (5 Nov.) and now the streets of Iasi are a slushy, muddy quagmire. Kind of reminds me of Kansas--in February. Uh oh. The trams seem to be breaking down with increasing frequency. It should be a fun winter!

For those of you following "Poli," they edged the dangerous F.C. Brasov 2-1 in Iasi on Saturday. I say 'edged' because they trailed 0-1 at the half, and scored the winner in the 89th minute! Both "Poli" goals came amidst general bedlam in the goalie's box, with richocheting shots and rebounds. Paraschiv scored the winning goal. "Poli" are now in 9th place.
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