This took a bit longer than expected.Visitors to this site were asked if they would submit current prices for a list of ten food products, in supermarkets or similar, in their part of the world.
This is my collation, using $US for all prices at current conversion rates:
• Euros = 1.42 US dollars
• British pounds sterling = 2.04 US dollars
• Canadian dollars = 1.02 US dollars
• Australian dollars = 0.90 US dollars
• US dollar = 24.5 Russian roubles
• 1 kg=2.2lbs, 1lb=0.454kg
• 1 gallon [Imp]=4.546 litres, 1 litre=0.22 gallons
• 1 gallon[U.S.]=3.785 litres, 1 litre=0.264 gallons
Special thanks to: The Morningstar [England], Jmb [Canada], Julie [Wales], Liz [Wales], Welshcakes Limoncello [Sicily], Jacque LeBlanc now in Sicily [Honolulu prices], Sean Jeating [Europe], who gets the prize for the most meticulous list, LFB_UK *The Legend* [England], Colin Campbell [Australia], Ruthie [U.S.A.] and also to Sally in Norfolk [England] and Gracchi [England].
The original data is here.
Notes: Interesting, in this list, to see some identical prices in different parts of Europe or Britain which suggest the price has been set. With the Russian prices, bear in mind that a four year trained teacher at school earns 5 700 roubles [$232] a month.
A middle management executive and a shopgirl earn 12 000 roubles and a check in girl for an airline earns 20 000. A doctor with five years experience earns about 10 000 roubles. The pension is 3000 roubles.
Prices in brackets below are all in U.S. dollars for comparison and refer to standard measures - either kilogramme, litre, whole [chicken], dozen [for eggs] or loaf.
1. Beef, in the form of mince:
Safeway Washington $4.49 1 LB 90% Lean Ground Beef 10% Fat [$9.16]
Ruthie [U.S.A.] A pound of ground beef is about $3. (I'm not sure what "beef mince" is, I'm assuming it's what we would call ground beef) [$6.60]
Jmb [Canada] beef mince, medium qual. $9.90/kg [$10.10]
The Morningstar [England] Beef mince: .5 kilo 1.40 [$5.71]
LFB_UK *The Legend* [England] Beef Mince 92p 500g [$3.75]
Julie [Wales] Minced beef per kilo £2.59 - (on offer - 2 kilos for £2.59) [$5.28]
Liz [Wales] Beef mince: £8.23 a kilo (organic lean steak mince) [$16.79]
Sean Jeating [Europe] Minced beef: 1 kg = 4,90 Euro [$6.96]
Welshcakes Limoncello [Sicily] 1 kilo minced beef - €7,89 [$11.20]
James [fSU] 52.80 roubles/450g [$2.16]
Colin Campbell [Australia] Mince $10 [$9.00]
2. Chicken, in the form of whole frozen bird:
Safeway Washington 3 LB Perdue Whole Chicken Fresh $3.87 [$8.51]
Ruthie [U.S.A.] A whole chicken is $6-$9, depending on the brand [$7.50]
Jmb [Canada] chicken,whole 5.91/kg [$6.02]
Julie [Wales] whole medium sized chicken - £3.50 [$7.14]
Liz [Wales] Chicken: £5.59 (large) [$11.40]
Sean Jeating [Europe] chicken, whole bird frozen (1,4 kg) = 2,49 Euro [$3.53]
Welshcakes Limoncello [Sicily] chicken here by weight - €3,45 per kilo [$6.86]
James [fSU] 107.60 roubles/1.4kg [$4.39]
Colin Campbell [Australia] chicken,whole 6/kg [$7.56]
Article continues here.
Very interesting collation and what a lot of work you have put into it. Interesting, too, to learn about a teacher's salary in Russia - not much leeway there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic exercise and I hope it hasn't made you too depressed, James.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't have a Japanese reader to contribute here. When I was there I could not believe how expensive some things were, like coffee, as it is for you. I saw a fresh melon that was the equivalent of US$60, all nicely wrapped.
I think we all know how food is cheapest compared to income in the States. Americans who live near the border call Canadians the cheeseheads because they buy cheese when they go over the border. It's so much cheaper there.
We all worry about our friend in Moscow, who stays here for some months each year when her husband comes to use the cyclotron for his research. She doesn't talk about it much but they have been through some hard times some years ago.
Thanks, ladies, it means a lot to me though I don't often tell you these things. I hope this price comparison will prove useful to people.
ReplyDeleteGreat interaction, interesting result.
ReplyDeleteAnd what at the end very often is "forgotten": In the beginning there had to be / was an idea. :)
Chapeau, James.
Sean, thank you for those kind words. And yet, clouds loom:
ReplyDelete...What a fantastic exercise and I hope it hasn't made you too depressed, James...
JMB has a habit of speaking prophetically and when she wrote "depressed", I was a little puzzled but now I see the force of being depressed.
It happens to us all - we write a quick, throwaway post on blogging and it gets two dozen comments and considerably more readers but just once try to run a long compilation and there's silence except for the few discerning eyes which appreciate such things.
As just mentioned - it happens to us all. I agree with Wolfie that interaction trumps sheer stats every time.
Wow... this is astonishing.
ReplyDeleteI never would have guessed that food prices were comparatively so cheap in the U.S-- or at least, in my little part of the U.S. I wonder why that is.
And as much as we bitch about gasoline prices, gas prices (or petrol, if you like) are sooo much lower in the U.S. than in Europe.
We should learn to count our blessings, huh?
Interesting - makes me glad to not be a meat eater and to be a bit of a minimalist with regards the dairy products (excepting cheese) - life's a bit cheaper for us, anyway.
ReplyDeleteOur American friends were horrified at the prices of everything, but particularly of petrol, when they visited here.
Lee has left a new comment on your post "FOOD PRICES":
ReplyDelete1 kilo minced beef - $8.95 to $11 (sometimes on special for $5.00kg)
Pork leg at the moment is $4.50 to $5.48kg
Leg lamb at the moment between $6.00-7.00kg.
Fresh chickens average $4.50kg Fresh breast fillets $9.00 to $13.50kg.
Frozen chickens, I'm not sure about at the moment but they're probably between $2-3.00.
Fish – well that varies whether you're buying local or imported. Imports are cheaper than local, but local is better than imports. I'm unable at the moment to give you prices on most fish but fresh Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon is around $30.00kg.
1 litre carton semi-skimmed milk - around $2.00-$2.40 Full cream 1tr is $2.00
Tasmanian Camembert & Brie on special are $6.00, normally around $8.00 for 250g
French stick/baguette $2.60
Bread ranges between $1.60 a loaf up to $4.00
Eggs: range from $2.80-$4.50 per dozen
Coffee, 200 gr Moccona medium roast, instant $$8.98 to $12.00 depending where and if on special or not. Lavazza/Vittorio 200g....$9.00-$11.00
Vegetable oils range from around $1.60 upwardsper litre, extra-virgin olive oil, popular brand - range from $6.50 upwards per litre.
Bananas - since Cyclone Larry early last year banana prices have sky-rocketed. They're only now starting to come down. I bought some a couple of days ago at $2.50kg...one store down the coast (Aldi) had them for $1.49kg at the same time. They did go up to over $10.00kg after Cyclone Larry, which had all but devastated the banana plantations in North Queensland.
Sundowner apples are around $3.00-3.50kg at present. Other apples are up around $5. to $6.00 per kg. Potatoes (unwashed) are around $1.29-$1.50kg.
Snow Peas are $6.84kg.
Fruit and vegetables are pretty expensive here at the moment as we're in the midst of a crippling drought and the fruit and vegetable-growing areas are hard-hit. Tomatoes have been up to over $8.00 a kg but are slowing coming down. I bought them at $4.29 a kg last Friday.
Roma Tomatoes are on special at Woolworths this week at $3.29kg.
I guess I could go on and on...and, also, of course, prices are varying because of weekly specials, but the above should give an idea.