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Food is an important part of the Cost of Living in Australia
How much does food cost in Australia ?
July 2008
Some
Grocery Prices in July 208 in Redlands, Near Brisbane, SE QLD.
ALDI
$1.09 White Bread 700gm Sliced
$6.29 1kg Cheese
$4.99 1 Litre Shower Gel
$2.99 1.5 Kg Apples
$0.99 800gm Roma Tomatoes
$1.79 1 kg Bananas
$3.99 1 Kg Fish Fingers (40)
$1.79 500 gm Frozen Baby Peas
$4.49 4 kg Potatoes
$2.99 1 kg Imperial Mandarins
Some prices from
Price Watch in
the Cairns area:
The following list of items in July 2008 averaged a Total of $63.14 between
the three major shops in the area.
Shampoo (250ml) : Cheddar Cheese (500g) : Bread : Softdrink (1.25l) : Fish
Fingers (40 pack) : Margarine (500g) : Yoghurt (1kg) : Snack Food (175g) :
Peanut Butter (500g) : Vegetable Oil (2l) : Dog Food (1.25kg) : Instant
Noodles (10 pack) : Milk (2l)
Check the current prices at:
http://www.shopsmart.sueboyce.com.au/Price_Survey.html
7th May 2008:
Some Butchers prices in May 2008 in Redlands, Near Brisbane, SE QLD.
- Lamb Loin Chops $9.99 kg
- Legs of Lamb $5.99 kg
- Topside Roast (MSA
Beef) $7.99 kg
- Whole Rib Fillets $15.99 kg
- Budget Whole Rib Fillets $9.99 kg
- BBQ Sausages $1.99 kg
- Whole Rumps (Grainfed) $5.99 kg
- Pork Chops 5 kg for $20
- Premium Mince 5 kg $25
UPDATE 17th March 2008:
A Major Australian newspaper, on Sunday 16th March 2008, with headlines
about SOARING FOOD COSTS, quoted the following examples:
- 2 litres Milk costs $3.33 : 650gm White Loaf costs $3.21 : TOTAL $6.54
I bought those items on that same day, 16th March 2008 - 2 litres Milk
$2.19 : 700gm White Loaf $1.09 : TOTAL $3.28, about HALF the above price.
Reading the full news article though, it did quietly say: "A basket of 25
typical products which cost $93.51 was reduced to $49.28" by shopping correctly.
THAT should have been the newspaper headline.
Near the bottom of this page you will see that on 11 Jan 2005 I paid
$2.99 per kg for thin style Sausages, well, on 16 March 2008 they are still
$2.99 per kg at the same place, although $3.27 at the supermarket.
Some other actual prices this week (Mar 2008) at our Woolworths (convenient but not
always the cheapest):
- Rump Steak (economy cut) $9.95 kg
- Premium Mince $9.95 kg
- Pork Loin Chops $12.96 kg
- Chicken (Whole) $4.79 kg
- Lettuce (Iceberg) $1.65 each
- Grapes (Red Globe) $2.94 kg
- Potatoes (4kg bag) $1.45 kg
- Coffee (Moccona Espresso) $9.99 250gm
- end of update -
How much does food cost in Australia ?
How long is a piece of string could be one
answer. I've seen comments where different families can spend between $80
and $400 per week on food. Some ideas of costs can be obtained from the
Woolworths Online Shop. However,
the differences between Supermarkets and small shops are worth looking into.
We pay $1.90 for 2 litres of white milk, which
would cost us $2.67 at a Supermarket at the time of writing this; 2006. That's
a 30% saving. (Updated July 2007 to: $2.20 at local shop
and $2.73 at Woolworths)
Rump Steak can sometimes be bought for $7 per
kg, at the local Butchers, although it is currently on special at a Supermarket for $15.40 per kg
!!, down
from about $20. (Butchers seem to be much better value)
A loaf of bread, Multigrain 700gm, can cost
between $1 and $3.50, again depending where you shop for it.
A cooked pizza from the Pizza chains can often
be bought for about $6.
Some yogurt prices compared on 26/1/06:
- UK - ASDA
SKI Value pack yogurts - 8x120g �1.78 (18.5p per 100g )
- AUS - Coles
SKI Delight 2x200g $2.00 (50c per 100g) or (21.3p per 100g)
and Cheese: (also checked 26/1/06)
- UK - ASDA : Crackerbarrel mature white cheddar 200G �1.98 (99p/100g)
- AUS - Coles: Cracker Barrel Extra Tasty Cheese 500g $5.29 ($1.06/100g) or (45p /100g)
On June 7th 2006 I checked some prices at the
local Butchers, normally much cheaper than the Supermarkets. Here is the
shopping list with the end result price:
|
1kg Lamb Chops for BBQ
2kg Roasting Leg of Pork
4kg Chicken Breasts
2kg Chicken Drumsticks
4kg Thick Sausages
5kg Yearling T-Bone Steak
2 dozen eggs
|
Butchers Price $ 115.80 |
| Supermarket Price $ 200.00 + |
GST (VAT) on Food
I have read that some people
complained about the introduction of GST on food prices. It may not be as
bad as some have thought. I just looked at the receipt from my last
shopping trip, and Tinned food had NO GST neither did the fresh fruit, Bread,
Yogurt, Milk or Cheese. In fact only two items had GST, and they were a
bar of chocolate for $1 and a 750gm bag of Cashew nuts that cost me $9.99.
(April 2008)
Australian Food Suppliers
The main Food supermarkets are:
-
Woolworths, over
700 supermarkets
source : Called "Safeway" in Victoria.
-
Coles over 480 stores
source
-
BI-LO. over 190 stores
source
-
ALDI now with 140 stores in Australia as at July 2007 (Now 160 stores at April 2008, and
200 stores planned by the end of 2008)
and the Independent Groups of Supermarkets
- IGA over 950 Independent stores in Australia
- FoodWorks over 700 Independent stores in Australia
Organic Food in Brisbane -
http://www.homefreshorganics.com.au/
Heres some supermarket Prices at Jan 11 2005, in my area of SEQLD.
Coca Cola 24 x 375ml cans $10.79 - Coles
Pepsi 24 x 375ml cans $8.98 - Woolworths
Coca Cola 2lt $1.66 - Bi-Lo
Coca Cola 1.25lt $1.18 - Woolworths
Lemonade Kirks 1.25l $0.98 - Woolworths
Rump Steak per kg $11.98 - Coles
Rump Steak per kg $6.99 - Butcher
Round Steak BBQ per kg $9.98 - Coles
Blade Steak per kg $6.98 - Woolworths
Topside Beef Roast per kg $7.47 - Bi-Lo
Lamb Leg roast per kg $6.95 - Coles
Lamb Leg roast per kg $6.95 - Woolworths
Lamb Leg roast per kg $4.99 - Butcher
Beef Mince Extra trim per kg $12.98 - Coles
Beef Mince per kg $4.77 - Bi-Lo
Porterhouse Steak per kg $15.98 - Coles
Pork Loin Chops per kg $9.98 - Coles
Sausages thin style per kg $4.98 - Woolworths
Sausages thin style per kg $2.99 - Butcher
Chicken Thigh Fillets Skinless per kg $8.98 - Coles
Chicken Breast Fillets Skinless per kg $10.98 - Coles
Chicken Breast Fillets Skinless per kg $9.98 - Bi-Lo
Chickens Whole uncooked per kg $3.87 - Bi-Lo
Cooked Chicken BBQ large $7.98 - Coles
Cooked Chicken BBQ large $8.98 - Woolworths
Nescafe Blend 43 250gm $7.95 - Coles
Nescafe Blend 43 150gm $4.48 - Woolworths
Kellogs Just Right 950g $5.99 - Coles
Yogurt Ski 1.2kg Strawberry $3.29 - Coles
Yogurt Yoplait 1kg Strawberry $3.49 - Bi-Lo
Yogurt Pauls 1kg $3.00 - Woolworths
Weight Watchers Chicken fettuccine 320g $3.95 - Coles
Birds Eye Create a meal Teriyaki 600gm $3.95 - Coles
Birds Eye Frozen chips Golden Crunch 1kg $2.99 - Coles
McCains Frozen chips shoestring 1kg $2.49 - Bi-Lo
Pantene Pro-V Shampoo 400ml $5.99 - Coles
Nurofen 12 pk tablets $2.69 - Coles
Fresh Croissants (3 pk) 225g $1.98 - Coles
Chicken Thigh Fillets Skinless per kg $8.98 - Coles
Cheese Jarlsberg per kg $17.98 - Coles
Cheese Cracker Barrel 500gm $5.25 - Woolworths
Nile Perch Fillets per kg $7.97 - Coles
Tiger Prawns cooked and peeled per kg $14.99 - Coles
Prawns Tropical white per kg $12.98 - Woolworths
Watermelon seedless per kg $0.98 - Coles
Potatoes Washed per kg $1.73 - Woolworths
Potatoes Washed per kg $1.68 - Coles
Potatoes Washed per kg $0.99 - Bi-Lo
Oranges Navel per kg $2.98 - Coles
Grapes Red Globe per kg $3.98 - Coles
Grapes White Seedless per kg $2.97 - Bi-Lo
Lychees per kg $5.98 - Woolworths
Peaches per kg $4.48 - Coles
Cucumbers each $0.95 - Coles
Carrots pre packed 2kg $1.98 - Coles
Snow peas per kg $5.98 - Coles
Heinz Beans 420gm $0.99 - Bi-Lo
Heinz Canned baby food 120gm $0.59 - Bi-Lo
Pizza McCain frozen 500gm $3.49 - Bi-Lo
Margarine Meadow Lea 500g $1.99 - Bi-Lo
Bread Sliced 750g Noble Rise $2.48 - Bi-Lo
Bread Sliced 750g Wonder white $2.48 - Bi-Lo
Bread Sliced 700gsm Buttercup Multigrain $1.00 - Fruit & Veg Shop
Iceburg Lettuce $0.95 - Bi-Lo
Red Salmon Tinned 210gm $3.29 - Woolworths
Toothpaste Sensodyne 110gm $7.45 - Woolworths
Toothpaste Colgate 100gm $1.00 - Local Discount store
Flavoured Milk 3lt $4.48 - Woolworths
Milk 2ltrs $2.36 - Coles
Milk 2ltrs $1.85 - Fruit & Veg Shop
Sausages thin style per kg $4.98 - Woolworths
Sausages thin style per kg $2.99 - Butcher
The Price of Food in Queensland ?
Some statistics from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics show the Total Sales of Food in
Queensland with the following % changes each three years.
Jun 1983 to Jun-1986 food sales increased by 40.8%, an annual average of
12.10%
Jun 1986 to Jun-1989 food sales increased by 42.9%, an annual average of 12.65%
Jun 1989 to Jun-1992 food sales increased by 28.1%, an annual average of 8.60%
Jun 1992 to Jun-1995 food sales increased by 28.4%, an annual average of 8.69%
Jun 1995 to Jun-1998 food sales increased by 17.2%, an annual average of 5.43%
Jun 1998 to Jun-2001 food sales increased by 22.0%, an annual average of 6.85%
Jun 2001 to Jun-2004 food sales increased by 25.7%, an annual average of 7.92%
Jun 2004 to Jun-2007 food sales increased by 20.4%, an annual average of 6.38%
Obviously population changes will have caused an impact in the above figures,
being TOTAL sales for QLD, as well as the actual price changes themselves.
The history of Safeways in Australia:
The Safeway chain was created in a merger in 1926 of Skaggs Stores and Sam
Seelig Company in the USA.
The company expanded into Canada in 1929, into the United Kingdom in 1962 and
into Australia in 1963.
In 1985 Safeway Australia was sold to the Australian-based Woolworths Limited.
In 1987 the UK Safeway business was sold to Argyll Stores.
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