Bundestag proposal calls for 4,90 euro Döner price cap

The Left Party (Die Linke) will present a proposal to the Bundestag calling on the German government to introduce a Döner price cap (Dönerpreisbremse). The law would cap the cost of a sandwich at 4,90 euros and at 2,90 euros for young people.

Die Linke propose Dönerpreisbremse

The German inflation rate began ticking up in March 2022. Since then, the government have introduced several policies to curb skyrocketing prices, including the gas price cap, the 9-euro ticket and the Deutschlandticket. On the Bundestag floor and in the German media, there have also been half-joking conversations about introducing a price cap on Germany’s favourite dish, the Döner.

Die Linke is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, this time in earnest. The party is expected to present a proposal in the Bundestag that calls for a Dönerpreisbremse, capping the cost of a sandwich at 4,90 euros and 2,90 euros for schoolchildren. In a proposal seen by Stern, the party also calls for households to be sent a weekly voucher for a Döner.

The average cost of a Döner in 2024 is 6 euros, according to a Lieferando survey of Döner prices in the 10 largest German cities. Introduced to Germany by Turkish “Gastarbeiter” in the 1970s, it is estimated that 1,3 billion Döner are eaten in the country annually, bringing in 7 billion euros in sales. Berliners alone eat 400.000 Döner each day.

Speaking on the Bundestag floor earlier this year, Hanna Steinmüller (Greens) urged fellow politicians to take the Dönerpreisbremse idea seriously. “For young people right now, [the price of a Döner] is an issue as important as where to move when they leave home. I know it’s not an everyday issue for many people here [...] but I think as voter representatives we are obliged to highlight these different perspectives."

Significant funds would be required to adopt a Dönerpreisbremse. According to Die Linke's calculations, a state-subsidised Dönerpreisbremse would cost the German government 4 billion euros each year.

What do Berlin Dönerläden think of Die Linke’s proposal?

Of course, the Dönerpreisbremse isn’t Die Linke’s only suggestion for how Germany should curb inflationary prices; the party has also called for a price cap on groceries, gas and rents. 

Berlin Döner shop manager Memet Kutglo thinks this is where parties should focus their energy. “I would love to sell a Döner for 4,90 euros”, Kutoglo told IamExpat, “But if the rent is high, if the electricity is expensive or the goods that we are selling are expensive to buy [...] 4,90 euros is too little."

Kutglo has run Best of Grill near Berlin Ostkreuz since 2015 and when he started a Döner in the shop cost just 3,50 euros, now it costs 6 euros. He’s pleased that the area around Ostkreuz boasts the cheapest Döner in Berlin, compared to 8 euros in the western neighbourhood of Ku’damm or 7,50 in Wedding, but isn’t convinced a Dönerpreisbremse would do the trick. “If the authorities regulate that the prices come down, the rents come down, then we could go back to selling a Döner for 4,90 euros or even 4,50 euros.”

Around the corner at Vöner, a vegan Döner shop, staff aren’t convinced by Die Linke’s proposal either. If a Dönerpreisbremse were introduced, “taxes would once again be invested in a product which is already full of state-subsidised foods such as meat,” a Vöner employee told IamExpat. 

According to 2021 figures, the German government subsidises the animal agriculture industry to the tune of 13 billion euros annually. “Considering the alarming progression of climate change, we should instead put the brakes on for Döner meat, so the list of state investments in war, animal and human suffering does not grow,” Vöner said.