Comparing basic Food and Staple Prices from around the World (Part 2)

Greetings all, I authored this thread www.abovetopsecret.com... about 20 months ago during the world wide droughts with the idea that food costs are sure to rise as a result. To new posters I recommend you read the old thread its only 2 pages long but chocked full of prices for food from around the globe.

We had a lot of good posts and I hope that those posters and more will add to this new thread as a follow up to the old one.
What I did not anticipate was the new phenomenon, rightly so called "Grocery Shrink Ray" please read the following link as it explains it all

consumerist.com...

Where the size was smaller we calculated the price back to the original size either in grams or pounds.
Some of our weights are metric and some are imperial this is because we live right on the Border with the USA and also due to free trade rules that we have no control over.


I thank my wife (YogaGinns) member here for taking the time today to re-check the prices on our original list.

Please when posting if you can state your Country and general area if you don't mind.
We live in Canada and Southwestern Ontario to be exact.
Don't worry if your products do not match our list, its good to compare any household necessities price wise as others are sure to purchase the same products.

Without further fanfare this is our list of prices compared to 20 months ago. Prices in brackets are 20 months old.

Butter (1 lb) [$4.39] $5.49
Becel Margarine "oleo" (1 lb tub) [$3.27] $3.99
Vegetable Oil (3 L) [$6.99] $6.99
Milk 1% (4 L bag) [$4.99] $3.97
Bread Whole Wheat [$2.99] $2.99
Sugar 2 kg (5 lb) [$2.49] $2.99
X-large eggs (doz) [$3.49] $3.39
Flour reg all purpose (5 lbs) [$7.99] $6.49
Florida orange juice (1.79 L) [$3.99] $4.29
Sockeye Salmon (213 gm can) [$3.99] $4.99
Inside round roast [$6.79/lb] $6.05/lb
Extra lean ground beef [ $5.19/lb]
Bacon (1 lb package) [$5.99] $5.99 **pkg is 20% smaller**
Maxwell House ground coffee (1 kg) [$10.49] $10.49 ** pkg is 10% smaller**
Regular Oatmeal (1 kg bag) [$3.49] $3.99
Special K cereal (475 gm box) [$4.99] $6.49 **larger box, equal cost/gm**
Raisin Bran (625 gm box) [$4.99] $5.49
Oatmeal Crisp Cereal (475 gm box) [$4.99] $4.99
Kraft Peanut Butter (1 kg jar) [$6.99] $6.49
Sunlight dish soap (950 ml) [$2.29] $2.99
Sunlight laundry soap he (1.47 L) [$6.97] $8.49
Scott paper towels (6 rolls) [$7.99] $9.49
Scott toilet paper (12 rolls) [$11.59] $11.49
Kraft cheese slices (24) [$5.39] $5.99


So for our list it looks like the drought never really raised the prices that much, but the paper products certainly went sky high and that makes me wonder because Canada is tree capitol of the world.....no shortage of pulp wood here.

But if you look how much they hacked off the size of a can of coffee and we no longer enjoy a pound of bacon that tells a story but it depends on how you read it.

We really hope to hear from a lot of good members on ATS!, this thread will only go as far as you guys and gals post.

Regards, Iwinder & and my beautiful side kick YogaGinns.
PS the preview button is not working for me at all, and lots of members have said the same so any spelling and such thats what you get.

a reply to: Iwinder

The list did not space out very well, however, pricing from 2012 is shown in square brackets [$$$] and today's prices are to the right.

Even though the increases are on average about $0.50/item, on a full grocery cart that still can add up.

Namaste,
YogaGinns & Iwinder

S&F. I noticed a sharp increase in meats and butter. We buy a half a cow, so the beef prices don't effect us, but I do keep an eye on them. Pork is up about a half a buck a pound here in the last year. Chicken is also up about a half a buck a pound. Coffee has been on sale so we stocked up, a thirty two ounce can was between five and six bucks with a coupon for a while. Half the stuff has jumped up a minimum of ten percent and the other half hasn't moved much. We usually buy only stuff on sale though, this saves a bundle. With the pantry and freezers, we can do that sort of stuff, rotating things is necessary. Miracle whip goes on sale before thanksgiving and Christmas, also before easter and the forth of July. We stock up each time, it is about 60% the normal price.

a reply to: Iwinder

He who controls the food, controls the world!

Agenda 21 in motion.

Believe it or not, it's here!

a reply to: rickymouse

Thanks for the post Rickymouse, and yes we too buy on sale items whenever possible and also go with store brands on many products.

Its sad when you need to be a mathematician to get the the best deal on toilet paper. I've gone through the checkout and had the cashier tell me that the other package size of the same brand is on sale...but when to tell them that the per sheet cost of this one is much cheaper you can see the jaw drop.

Some people will blindly go with the "sale" items and not attempt to figure out the actual costs. I was truly blown away with the bacon pricing. We only buy it in the summer when our tomatoes are harvested, and the smaller package jumped right out at me today...shrink ray at its best.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

I also stock up/buy only when on sale.

But, in general, lately just from walking through the store, I notice just in the past few months:

Bread loaf up 20% (up from .99 cents per loaf to $1.19)
Bacon up 42% (up from $4.29 /lb to $6.29/lb)
Eggs up 74% (up from $2.89 18/pk to $3.89 18/pk)
Hamburger up 70% (up from 3.69/lb to 5.29/lb)

This makes me say... GOOD LORD....

a reply to: YogaGinns

It seems that many of the prices you had there are much higher than around here. It's hard though, I just tend to look at stuff when it is on sale, I also look at the reduction, not the original price.

a reply to: tinker9917e

Thanks for sharing those prices with us. Those percentages are staggering, and yet you would never see pay hikes to match. I hope for your sake that they are isolated cases and not a trend.

Our bacon price is about a 25% price increase when the reduced package size is taken into account. Wonder how many people don't notice and just pick up the same stuff week after week.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: Iwinder

He who controls the food, controls the world!

Agenda 21 in motion.

Believe it or not, it's here!

Oh yes we agree with you sir.
Make no mistake.
Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: tinker9917
I also stock up/buy only when on sale.

But, in general, lately just from walking through the store, I notice just in the past few months:

Bread loaf up 20% (up from .99 cents per loaf to $1.19)
Bacon up 42% (up from $4.29 /lb to $6.29/lb)
Eggs up 74% (up from $2.89 18/pk to $3.89 18/pk)
Hamburger up 70% (up from 3.69/lb to 5.29/lb)

This makes me say... GOOD LORD....

My God, I thought prices here in Japan were high.

Milk here is usually sold in quarts, and it runs between $1.60 to $2.60 a quart.
Chichen is mostly sold by the piece and not the whole chicken, so ground chicken is about $1.20 for 100 grams
Bread, well here they sell it by the "slice", 6 slices seems to be the norm, prices vary from .80 cents to about $1.70 for the high end stuff.
Bananas from the Philippines when on sale go for 6 for $1.00, been that price now for 20 years.
Gasolene is about 162 yen a liter, don't know what that comes out to a gallon, but it now cost $50 to fill our Toyota Vitz car. Never have I paid so much for gasolene.

Even though the increases are on average about $0.50/item, on a full grocery cart that still can add up.

Having gone back and worked the percentage out on some of the increased prices in the OP. What may only be a $0.50 increase is anywhere from a 15% to 25% jump in price. It seems to hurt more with that way of thinking.

Namaste,
YogaGinns

Just recently we bought 6 packages of hot dogs on sale and put them in the freezer.
The price was really good and these were quality hot dogs ( if there is such a thing) but once we took a pack out to defrost we to our dismay discovered that there were only 10 in the package!

In Canada hot dogs have always come in dozens up till now......

consumerist.com...

Regards, Iwinder

I should add that the Canadian Dollar and the USA Dollar are pretty much on par and so is the Australian Dollar .......
Just posted that for reference if you need it.

Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: rickymouse
S&F. I noticed a sharp increase in meats and butter. We buy a half a cow, so the beef prices don't effect us, but I do keep an eye on them. Pork is up about a half a buck a pound here in the last year. Chicken is also up about a half a buck a pound. Coffee has been on sale so we stocked up, a thirty two ounce can was between five and six bucks with a coupon for a while. Half the stuff has jumped up a minimum of ten percent and the other half hasn't moved much. We usually buy only stuff on sale though, this saves a bundle. With the pantry and freezers, we can do that sort of stuff, rotating things is necessary. Miracle whip goes on sale before thanksgiving and Christmas, also before easter and the forth of July. We stock up each time, it is about 60% the normal price.

I think the pork is way up in price in our area due to this disease.
www.torontosun.com...

And we like pork big time :-(

Regards, Iwinder

The packages are getting smaller by the month. Potato chips are a classic example and since everyone loves them why not make the packages smaller and jack up the price. Don't know how small the packages now can get. 58 grams now for $1.35 horrible, I tell you.

I don't know. It seems to me prices for food and basics has risen steeply where I live. A year ago, I could buy a months worth of quality food at roughly $350.00 (I'm only feeding one and try to buy organic if available...it's pricey, but tastes better). Now however, because of financial constraint, I'm getting about the same food at the same price, but none of it is organic.

Any type of meat is through the roof here. $13.00 dollars for a lb of ground beef! Give me a break. The price of meat is turning me into a vegetarian...and I am a meat eater! Thank Dawg, I hunt and fish and help my bud on his farm...otherwise I would never be able to afford meat the way prices are going.

here in HK the "wet" markets offer a better price than full blown supermarkets but you won't find any real dairy there.
all chinese food stuffs.
people went nuts a couple years ago, when fresh ginger went way up in price!

western imported foods are pretty expensive but local fresh vegs and pork and fish in the wet markets are a lot cheaper.
they also eat parts of animals i never knew they had! lol. (wife is chinese)

i have a butcher shop i go to for real quality meats, run by aussies. good prices for what you get. stuff you won't find in the either markets.

paper goods are cheap, i get the store brand TP and tissue for myself, the wife gets the high end 3ply scented stuff, i can't stand it.

so i mix up dinners between chinese and western. keeps the monthly bills down.

originally posted by: TDawgRex
I don't know. It seems to me prices for food and basics has risen steeply where I live. A year ago, I could buy a months worth of quality food at roughly $350.00 (I'm only feeding one and try to buy organic if available...it's pricey, but tastes better). Now however, because of financial constraint, I'm getting about the same food at the same price, but none of it is organic.

Any type of meat is through the roof here. $13.00 dollars for a lb of ground beef! Give me a break. The price of meat is turning me into a vegetarian...and I am a meat eater! Thank Dawg, I hunt and fish and help my bud on his farm...otherwise I would never be able to afford meat the way prices are going.

I hope your lb of ground beef is extra extra lean!.....thats a lot of money for a pound of beef.
We love meat too and wish we had a farmer friend or two for that matter, what we do see is things like steaks advertized in our local flyer for $3.99 a pound one week and the very next week the same steaks are listed at $10.99 a pound.

Who is going to pay that? and I also ask what do they do with all this $10.99 a pound steak they are never ever going to sell at that price?

Thanks for adding to the thread.

Regards, Iwinder

If you wanted to buy a single bacon cheese burger in burger king (not that you should anyway hehehe) in London....

You will have to pay over £5 for it. ($8.40). One single burger. 4 bucks in the states.