I am traumatized every time I go to the supermarket

[Lanick]

I live in Spain most of the year and yes the prices for these products are similar. Definitely less. Also there are other products that is unbearable! Also; in Spain minimum wage is usd 1500. Very unlikely you can find anyone working for this amount! Now tell me if Argentina prices are the same in terms of affordability?

 

[SlowWalker]

From my experience it seems like certain its a bit of give and take in terms of costs for food inputs. Argentina is typically cheaper for meats. Fruits and veggies I find are cheaper or similarly priced as in other latin countries. Foreign brands are typically higher, again, same as in other countries but here moreso.

Some things are based on sizes. Shopping is typically limited to the day of or a couple days, not filling up carts and trucks for a week or month of food. They buy 500g/1kg packs of rice instead of 11kg sacks like in other countries. It is still around $1/kg or less.
The veggies would be about 25% cheaper at least in the verduleria than the supermercado. Cheese at the supermarket in ready to go packs is more expensive than the kioscos here, but you can buy blocks of it for super cheap if you buy it in larger quantities.

Also, when one considers the local diet, I find they are typically eating a single larger meal per day and either a lighter one and almost no breakfast, or 2 very light meals breakfast and mirienda (I think its called). The diet will also consist of a lot of eggs, pastas, a lasagna, pizzas and sandwiches, all typically homemade. So while certain meals may cost more, other staple meals are very affordable.

In other latin/carribean countries, things are similar. Looking in supermarkets it can be expensive, but the daily meal in some places is rice with beans and eggs or chicken, and platano based dishes.

The thing that strikes me the most is really the supermarket business model. I really don't understand it here. Typically, its a low margin high volume business with a few profit centers (produce, cheese/deli/meat/fish counter(s), fresh bakery). Here, they just jack up the price and reduce the volume sold, while still paying their rent. For the over 3 years I have been here, they just continually kept reducing the number of shelves, displays etc and changing the layout slightly and kept offerring fewer and fewer goods. It, Libertad in the mall here, finally closed but another supermarket is coming in. Carrefour also expanded to 24 hours, or at least had a sign out a week ago that they had so that is nice.

I don't know if it makes too much sense to compare Carrefour here (neighbourhood corner shops, basically), with Carrefour in France (upmarket hipermarchés). If we want to directly compare supermarket prices, maybe Aldi or Lidl in Europe would be more appropriate.

I think Carrefour here has two brands of stores, Carrefour the supermarket, and Carrefour Express, more tightly packed stores throughout CABA that are much smaller. In my city there is only Carrefour the supermarket.

 

[Rich One]

How about the income in AR and in France. When you factor that in then it’s at least double in Argentina.

If the cost was double in Paris, it's still worth it..!

An anecdote; My friend goes out for dinner in Paris and pays, at least, US$100 per person. On the way out he generously tips the Maitre-d and mentions. Please save me the same table for tomorrow night...!
It's priceles.

 

[Ries]

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the feria de agronomia, at the facultad de agronomia, in the big university grounds on San Martin, near Nazca, kinda on the north edge of Villa Del Parque. Its a great feria, with a lot of actual growers and producers, with a mix of foods, and some crafts. Some food to eat on the spot, usually, too. Beautiful grounds, its the main Agricultural university in CABA, and one of the big ones for the country as a whole. Also the veteranary school, tons of big sports fields and outdoor pools, its an oasis of green in that part of the city.

Feria de Agronomía | Agenda Cultural 15

agendacultural15.com

 

[LuckyLuke]

I live in Spain most of the year and yes the prices for these products are similar. Definitely less. Also there are other products that is unbearable! Also; in Spain minimum wage is usd 1500. Very unlikely you can find anyone working for this amount! Now tell me if Argentina prices are the same in terms of affordability?

The population of Madrid (3.6M) has roughly the same population as CABA (3.48M)

Per Bumeran the average salary in CABA per sector is $1.4M to $1.6M (excluding Mineria/Petroleo).

CABA has 2,130, 1 bedroom apartments under ARS $600,000 available for rent per Zonaprop.

That's less than 50% allocated, but let's call it 50% because everybody seems to know some guy who makes pennies.

According to google, the average take home salary in Madrid is €2,000 to €2,200.

Madrid has 2,055 1 bedroom apartments available at ANY price, in the entire city. The average being €1,000 to €1,500 per idealista.com

That's 50%+ of your take home allocated to rent.

If we are talking about affordability, I don't see the difference....

 

[wineguy999]

The population of Madrid (3.6M) has roughly the same population as CABA (3.48M)

Per Bumeran the average salary in CABA per sector is $1.4M to $1.6M (excluding Mineria/Petroleo).

CABA has 2,130, 1 bedroom apartments under ARS $600,000 available for rent per Zonaprop.

That's less than 50% allocated, but let's call it 50% because everybody seems to know some guy who makes pennies.

According to google, the average take home salary in Madrid is €2,000 to €2,200.

Madrid has 2,055 1 bedroom apartments available at ANY price, in the entire city. The average being €1,000 to €1,500 per idealista.com

That's 50%+ of your take home allocated to rent.

If we are talking about affordability, I don't see the difference....

If only bars in CABA would give me free plate of tapas with every €3 glass of Mencía...

 

[steveinbsas]

I haven't been to thr supermarket in Punta Alta in about three months, and the next time I go, I am not planning on going to buy anything at a supermarket. I will visit my good Argentine friend, Walter, who is also "my" mecánico. I will pick up three maples of eggs (see photo) which will already have been delivered to his taller, but there's nothing else that I consume on a daily basis that I can't buy at competetive prices from three locales that are close to each other, just over one kilometer from my house.

Here's what I buy when I go "grocery" shopping:

Butter: 200 gr. @ $2950 c/u
Milk: 1 ltr @ $1800 c/litro
Chicken wings: 3 kilos @ $3700 c/kilo
Ricotta cheese. 500 gr @ $3900 c/u
Coffee instant. 170 gr @ $5000 c/u

The instant coffee is Cabrales La Planta sin azúcar, the milk is El Baggio 3% ultra pasturized/shelf stable. I have stopped drinking the milk and now make and consume yoghurt instead, drastically reducing my daily carb consumption.

The chicken wings in Frank's price list from Carrefour are significantly lower than what I am paying locally, but the supermarket price in Punta Alta are the same as I'm paying in the mini polloria here in Villa Arias.

At least here in Villa Arias I'm in WhatsApp contact with the owner, who sends me a message on the days the frozen wings arrive. He separates the wings into individual bags of 1 kilo. I usually buy 5 or six kilos at a time, which is all my "freezer" can hold as well as two maples of eggs, in all enough for one week.

The bottom line is that everything that I eat and drink costs less than $10 USD per day, and, yes, I eat the same things every day, in exactly the same sequence, and I've been doing so for more than two years, having cut the sugar, bread, pasta, pizza, and all highly processed "foods" six years ago, when, at the age of sixty-nine, and in spite of decades of excellent lab results, I was diagnosed with serios arterial blockage in both legs.

What I thought had been working very well health-wise for the first sixty-nine years of my clearly had not. I am writing this here to explain why I am following my current "carnivore régimen," not to advocate it to others. I used to eat just about every food that expats have asked about here, including but not limited to: doughnuts, peanut butter, pretzels, sweet rolls (in mass quantities), etc., and even since I stopped consuming them, I don't criticize those who do.

I am curious to know what folks are paying in CABA for the items in my list. My total daily cost of eating is less than ten dollars and I never feel deprived or even very hungry, especially since I learned how to time what I eat and drink during the day (thanks to AI).

 

[Caribbean Cool]

I haven't been to thr supermarket in Punta Alta in about three months, and the next time I go, I am not planning on going to buy anything at a supermarket. I will visit my good Argentine friend, Walter, who is also "my" mecánico. I will pick up three maples of eggs (see photo) which will already have been delivered to his taller, but there's nothing else that I consume on a daily basis that I can't buy at competetive prices from three locales that are close to each other, just over one kilometer from my house.

Here's what I buy when I go "grocery" shopping:

Butter: 200 gr. @ $2950 c/u
Milk: 1 ltr @ $1800 c/litro
Chicken wings: 3 kilos @ $3700 c/kilo
Ricotta cheese. 500 gr @ $3900 c/u
Coffee instant. 170 gr @ $5000 c/u

The instant coffee is Cabrales La Planta sin azúcar, the milk is El Baggio 3% ultra pasturized/shelf stable. I have stopped drinking the milk and now make and consume yoghurt instead, drastically reducing my daily carb consumption.

The chicken wings in Frank's price list from Carrefour are significantly lower than what I am paying locally, but the supermarket price in Punta Alta are the same as I'm paying in the mini polloria here in Villa Arias.

At least here in Villa Arias I'm in WhatsApp contact with the owner, who sends me a message on the days the frozen wings arrive. He separates the wings into individual bags of 1 kilo. I usually buy 5 or six kilos at a time, which is all my "freezer" can hold as well as two maples of eggs, in all enough for one week.
The bottom line is that everything that I eat and drink costs less than $10 USD per day, and, yes, I eat the same things every day, in exactly the same sequence, and I've been doing so for more than two years, having cut the sugar, bread, pasta, pizza, and all highly processed "foods" six years ago, when, at the age of sixty-nine, and in spite of decades of excellent lab results, I was diagnosed with serios arterial blockage in both legs.

What I thought had been working very well health-wise for the first sixty-nine years of my clearly had not. I am writing this here to explain why I am following my current "carnivore régimen," not to advocate it to others. I used to eat just about every food that expats have asked about here, including but not limited to: doughnuts, peanut butter, pretzels, sweet rolls (in mass quantities), etc., and even since I stopped consuming them, I don't criticize those who do.

I am curious to know what folks are paying in CABA for the items in my list. My total daily cost of eating is less than ten dollars and I never feel deprived or even very hungry, especially since I learned how to time what I eat and drink during the day (thanks to AI).

so what????

 

[USAtoBA]

I'll try to give you a report from Monte Grande tomorrow Steve on those prices

 

[LuckyLuke]

I was thinking about this thread last week, funny enough. A young woman delivering the mail told me about her 6 year stint working in Spain. She said the housing was so expensive that she had to rent a room in a shared house the entire time. 6 years, couldn't even get a studio apartment. Which is baffling when I consider that in the 3 years I've been down here, I haven't met a single working individual who rents a room. And it's not because of family, because Neuquen is full of transplants from other Provincias. But let's get back to those cheap European produce prices, what a bargain!