Comparison shopping

Today in one of my classes the topic of shopping came up. It was in the textbook, and for once it was dealt with in a fairly interesting way. There was a comparison of how much things cost in the U.S. and in Japan. (I would have liked to see other countries, but the textbook writer was American.)

I can't remember the details now, and I left the textbook at school, but I was thinking about this as I was coming home. I know that when I travel, one of the first things I do in a new country is to look for a local supermarket. Wandering around a foreign supermarket is an education in itself.

I thought it might be fun to do a wander around the blog supermarket. We have a lot of different nationalities here. When I popped down to the supermarket after work to buy tomatoes, I took notes in the vege and meat section. I didn't note many things, just a few. I thought it might be fun to compare how much we pay for things in different countries.

Here's my list. Sometimes different varieties of fruit or vege were more expensive. I chose the cheapest on offer if there was more than one option.

I have converted the amounts to Euro, UK pounds, US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Singapore dollars, Malaysian Ringgits, and New Zealand dollars. I did all the conversions through the Universal Currency Converter®. If I missed your country, I apologize.

6 apples: ¥600 (€4.38; UK£3;5.40; US$5.40; C$6.85; A$7.50; SGD$9.12; MYR20.55; NZ$8.08)
3 medium-sized onions: ¥98 (€0.72; UK£0.50; US$0.88; C$1.19; A$1.22; SGD$1.49; MYR3.36; NZ$1.32)
1 lemon: ¥78 (€0.57; UK£0.39; US$0.70; C$0.89; A$0.97; SGD$1.18; MYR2.67; NZ$1.05)
8 small potatoes: ¥168 (€1.23; UK£0.85; US$1.51; C$1.92; A$2.10; SGD$2.55; MYR5.75; NZ$2.26)
3 medium-sized carrots: ¥98 (€0.72; UK£0.50; US$0.88; C$1.19; A$1.22; SGD$1.49; MYR3.36; NZ$1.32)
1 head of lettuce: ¥148 (€1.08; UK£0.74; US$1.33; C$1.69; A$1.85; SGD$2.25; MYR5.07; NZ$1.99)

10 eggs: ¥179 (€1.31; UK£0.90; US$1.61; C$2.04; A$2.23; SGD$2.72; MYR6.12; NZ$2.41)
Steak: ¥690/100 grams (€5.05; UK£3.47; US$6.21; C$7.87; A$8.61; SGD$10.47; MYR23.60; NZ$9.29)
Chicken pieces: ¥80/100 grams (€0.58; UK£0.40; US$0.72; C$0.91; A$1.00; SGD$1.21; MYR2.74; NZ$1.07)
1 litre of milk: ¥230 (€1.68; UK£1.16; US$2.07; C$2.62; A$2.87; SGD$3.49; MYR7.87; NZ$3.09)
5 kilos of rice ¥2300 (€16.84; UK£11.58; US$20.71; C$26.27; A$28.78; SGD$34.92; MYR78.71; NZ$30.99)

I was getting hungry by that stage so that was all I noted. I also noted that 2 large onions were ¥168 and 6 brown free-range eggs were ¥279, but I already had the cheaper ones.

Sorry about the odd amounts. The fruit and veges are usually packed already, and don't display the weights or give you a choice. You have to buy how many are in the bag. But as you can see the bag is usually small, so this is not a problem. If you need more you get two bags.

Must remember to do coffee and tea next time. How could I have forgotten the staples?

What surprised you the most? (Besides rice, I mean, which I already know is phenomenally expensive here.)