I am traumatized every time I go to the supermarket

[ceterisparibus]

aprox. $18 dollars depending on which rate you take. This same basket is easily the half price in Europe...

 

[Ries]

The supermarket is the worst place to shop. 18 dollars buys you two huge bags of produce at the travelling feria de ciudad vendors. And its fresher and better tha supermarket produce. Mine has two gigantic produce stands, a baker, an egg dealer, a salumeria, a fish monger,and a general provisions stand with raisans or rice crackers or spices or oils.
Usually two mornings a week- mine is Sunday and Wednesday.
164 locations across the city. https://buenosaires.gob.ar/gcaba_hi...aciones-y-horarios-de-las-ferias-de-la-ciudad

 

[zensailor]

The supermarket is the worst place to shop. 18 dollars buys you two huge bags of produce at the travelling feria de ciudad vendors. And its fresher and better tha supermarket produce. Mine has two gigantic produce stands, a baker, an egg dealer, a salumeria, a fish monger,and a general provisions stand with raisans or rice crackers or spices or oils.
Usually two mornings a week- mine is Sunday and Wednesday.
164 locations across the city. https://buenosaires.gob.ar/gcaba_hi...aciones-y-horarios-de-las-ferias-de-la-ciudad

I will second that observation ... a satisfying experience with better results.

 

[Che1990]

aprox. $18 dollars depending on which rate you take. This same basket is easily the half price in Europe...

you can get cheaper, but it’s a full time job comparing prices and lots buying in bulk. Taking advantage of special offers. Compare rates on Rappi/PedidsYa (same price as supermarkets).

If you work full time like me and have hobbies etc after works, it’s INCREDIBLY hard eating well and at a reasonable price in BA.

 

[Ries]

you can get cheaper, but it’s a full time job comparing prices and lots buying in bulk. Taking advantage of special offers. Compare rates on Rappi/PedidsYa (same price as supermarkets).

If you work full time like me and have hobbies etc after works, it’s INCREDIBLY hard eating well and at a reasonable price in BA.

no need to compare prices, buy in bulk, or wait for special offers at the feria. Its true, they wont stock cherries after the season is over, and there are some things that they dont always have.
you dont even have to go online, unless you pay that way.
you can point to the exact bunch of basil you want, you can say you only want to buy 1/8 of a watermelon, and they will cut it for you.

But they buy every morning at the central wholesale market.
the produce stands there also have a box or two of slightly overripe, or cosmetically damaged fruits and some veggies, at a substantial discount. poor people buy big boxes of bruised apples or slightly rubbery carrots, things they are going to cook anyway, for less.

I go once a week, on sunday mornings in my case, wait in line a bit, and buy all the produce veggies and fruit I need for the whole week.
Its easy, and although the line is longer, all up its actually not much slower than disco or jumbo.

 

[USAtoBA]

I'm in Monte Grande, the meats here at the carniceria are super cheap, chicken, steak etc Veggies at the verdulería also super cheap.... However the supermarket runs are just as bad as CABA. Cheaper than the USA, but not by much.

Malbec thankfully cheap everywhere

 

[LuckyLuke]

Did anybody look at the receipt? Honestly, I don't see anything particularly shocking. Most of this basket of goods here isn't even raw produce.

We hear this all the time on this forum, "Europe is so much cheaper". Well let's put this trite statement to the test, here's a perfect scenario. Carrefour has digital stores in both France and Argentina. So let's tackle the non-produce items (since you can actually find produce much cheaper around the corner). We want this to be a real nice, apples to apples comparison here. Here's Carrefour France prices for the same items:

Sunflower Oil: 1.99 EU
Can of Tuna in Oil: 2.49 EU
Yogurt Natural: 2.29 EU / kg = 0.57 EU
Les Tablettes: 1.25 EU
Can of Lentils: 1.35 EU
Trash bags: 2.09 EU x 2 = 4.18 EU

Total: 11.83 EU
ARS Exchange rate: 1688 (Ambito.com)
Total ARS: $19,969

Based on your receipt, my math shows you paid at Carrefour Argentina this amount for the above items: $20,753

There you have it my friends. Europe is SOOOO much cheaper by a whopping 784 pesos. Can we please move on from this comparison?

 

[ceterisparibus]

Did anybody look at the receipt? Honestly, I don't see anything particularly shocking. Most of this basket of goods here isn't even raw produce.

We hear this all the time on this forum, "Europe is so much cheaper". Well let's put this trite statement to the test, here's a perfect scenario. Carrefour has digital stores in both France and Argentina. So let's tackle the non-produce items (since you can actually find produce much cheaper around the corner). We want this to be a real nice, apples to apples comparison here. Here's Carrefour France prices for the same items:

Sunflower Oil: 1.99 EU
Can of Tuna in Oil: 2.49 EU
Yogurt Natural: 2.29 EU / kg = 0.57 EU
Les Tablettes: 1.25 EU
Can of Lentils: 1.35 EU
Trash bags: 2.09 EU x 2 = 4.18 EU

Total: 11.83 EU
ARS Exchange rate: 1688 (Ambito.com)
Total ARS: $19,969

Based on your receipt, my math shows you paid at Carrefour Argentina this amount for the above items: $20,753

There you have it my friends. Europe is SOOOO much cheaper by a whopping 784 pesos. Can we please move on from this comparison?

Just checked myself as well and yes, I give you that "the same is easily the half price in Europe" comment of mine has been a lazy one. Thanks for taking the time and making the actual comparison.

Though why such a rather hostile language?

The price of the basket coming out about the same is still not reassuring: the salary gap between the two countries...

My real point / complaint is not just "how much does this cost in Europe" but more importantly, "how affordable is this basket relative to my income and local incomes?".

 

[ceterisparibus]

The supermarket is the worst place to shop. 18 dollars buys you two huge bags of produce at the travelling feria de ciudad vendors. And its fresher and better tha supermarket produce. Mine has two gigantic produce stands, a baker, an egg dealer, a salumeria, a fish monger,and a general provisions stand with raisans or rice crackers or spices or oils.
Usually two mornings a week- mine is Sunday and Wednesday.
164 locations across the city. https://buenosaires.gob.ar/gcaba_hi...aciones-y-horarios-de-las-ferias-de-la-ciudad

Appreciate the rec, Ries!
Checked the link and will be at the feria

 

[LuckyLuke]

Just checked myself as well and yes, I give you that "the same is easily the half price in Europe" comment of mine has been a lazy one. Thanks for taking the time and making the actual comparison.

Though why such a rather hostile language?

The price of the basket coming out about the same is still not reassuring: the salary gap between the two countries...

My real point / complaint is not just "how much does this cost in Europe" but more importantly, "how affordable is this basket relative to my income and local incomes?".

Howdy Ceteris,

I apologize for the hostility. It gets the best of me sometimes.

You are correct, Argentina has an affordability problem. However, are we certain France doesn't have an affordability problem as well?

On the surface it may be puzzling that yogurt in both France and Argentina cost the same if in fact French dairy factories are paying their workers an average higher wage. This should correspond to higher yogurt prices in France or, conversely, lower yogurt prices here, right?

If I had to guess, it has to do with the distribution of taxes between both countries. France is generally known to have somewhat higher taxes than Argentina; however, as I understand, the bulk of their taxes are on wage earnings. This is because France has a high formal labor market.

Argentina on the other hand has a very high informal labor market, which means they have placed the majority of the tax burden on businesses instead.

The result is that yogurt in France is the same price as Argentina.

You could say that wages are higher in France and therefore it's more affordable. But costs are higher too in France. Here's a side by side comparison:



I'm not sure what to make of that last line. We would have to break down the metrics that the website uses to determine that.