Inflation ???

[TomAtAlki]

I paid $175AR for my 30 eggs yesterday and I got what I paid for. Big, beautiful eggs, huge golden yokes. Worth every penny. When I was in the US last summer eggs went for between $2.99 and $7.99US a dozen depending on the eggs. To compare prices/inflation you must compare similar products, ie KitKat bars or Activa.......not eggs.

T/

 

[Rich One]

I paid $175AR for my 30 eggs yesterday and I got what I paid for. Big, beautiful eggs, huge golden yokes. Worth every penny. When I was in the US last summer eggs went for between $2.99 and $7.99US a dozen depending on the eggs. To compare prices/inflation you must compare similar products, ie KitKat bars or Activa.......not eggs.

T/

Great buy, hope you enjoyed them... The quoted price of US$8.70 for local eggs places local eggs above the price of the best USA eggs.....! Interesting .


Only want to know where to get some of those eggs. ?

 

[steveinbsas]

Just returned to the quinta from one of the shops in the nearby village. 30 large (grande) brown farm fresh eggs for $100...and that's the new price. I think the price was $70 a couple weeks ago.

 

[Rich One]

Just returned to the quinta from one of the shops in the nearby village. 30 large (grande) brown farm fresh eggs for $100...and that's the new price. I think the price was $70 a couple weeks ago.View attachment 4962

Figure out, the price at the Super or Capital markets must be MUCH higher as reported by Tom Atiki.

 

[Ries]

you wanna talk about inflation- I just got a 500g package of Taragui Yerba Mate, from Amazon, and it was 9.90$ US!
Thats 200 pesos. At my neighborhood chino, its 35 pesos. At least at Amazon, just like from the chino, delivery is free.

 

[nicoenarg]

30 eggs for 85 at my local carniceria. Price increased from 45 to 85 a week ago.

 

[Pabby1980]

I've just registered to make a post about our huge surprise at supermarket costs when we arrived in BA yesterday.

£3 for a loaf of wholemeal bread, £3.50 for a small bag of cheap looking oven chips!

Wow.

We obviously didn't buy any of the ridiculously overpriced stuff, we're fairly savvy with our spending on our 3 month world trip. Having already visited 5 South American countries this is the first time we were actively shocked by the prices....and the bizarre disparity between them.

80p for a pizza base....£2.20 for 4 burger baps....???

One has to be so careful to check every single price before putting it in the trolly here. God only knows how they come up with their pricing.

And I mean no offence by saying this, but it's not like the food or service is any good either, which might help to justify the price if it was. The Iceberg lettuces were outright disgusting, (as was most if the veg section) and having to wash sticky chicken juice off my hands after picking up a bag of raw chicken breasts wasn't exactly my idea of a good shopping experience. (All the bags were covered in something....not great).

To be honest the whole thing was kind of grubby and upsetting. It's not a good feeling to think you're getting ripped off for no apparent reason. The people shopping in the place just seemed resigned to it. A real shame.

The ironic thing was that after walking out of the supermarket (in shock) we saw a large group of people banging pots and pans in the street, which we later found out is some kind of protest about the financial situation here.

If I had to deal with this on a regular basis I'd be out there with a pan too!

FYI it's not like we can't afford the stuff we were looking at. I don't want to sound pretentious, but I'm a property developer with a decent portfolio and my other half is a pediatrician. We've managed to get a few months off to do some travelling before we get married. I'd definitely say we're not slumming it by any stretch of the imagination. It's not about the money, it's about the principal. If they want to charge Marks and Spencer prices (for example), try and follow the M&S business model, rather than that of a scabby local market.

I'm sure we'll love BA by the time we leave, it does have some wonderful qualities, but that was an experience that we really did find a bit off putting.

It kind of feels like this place is in a bubble, and a bit out of control... Let's just hope it doesn't burst anytime soon.

Cheers.

 

[rickulivi]

I was 25 when I emigrated to the USA, and people would ask me about cultural shock. I did not experience it because I was raised in Argentina by a US born and raised mom, and then I lived for a year here when I was 11, and another two years between 19-21. I was obviously very comfortable with American culture. However, at 25, I did experience one bit of economic culture shock. I would go to the supermarket once or twice a week, and I could not understand why and how prices always stayed the same. It seemed surreal to me. Accustomed to the natural inflation of Argentina, I could not comprehend how it was possible for prices not to wary in the US. I guess many of you are experiencing the opposite. It takes time to adjust and learn to cope with it. And if you are good at it, you can profit!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

I've just registered to make a post about our huge surprise at supermarket costs when we arrived in BA yesterday.

£3 for a loaf of wholemeal bread, £3.50 for a small bag of cheap looking oven chips!

Wow.

We obviously didn't buy any of the ridiculously overpriced stuff, we're fairly savvy with our spending on our 3 month world trip. Having already visited 5 South American countries this is the first time we were actively shocked by the prices....and the bizarre disparity between them.

80p for a pizza base....£2.20 for 4 burger baps....???

One has to be so careful to check every single price before putting it in the trolly here. God only knows how they come up with their pricing.

And I mean no offence by saying this, but it's not like the food or service is any good either, which might help to justify the price if it was. The Iceberg lettuces were outright disgusting, (as was most if the veg section) and having to wash sticky chicken juice off my hands after picking up a bag of raw chicken breasts wasn't exactly my idea of a good shopping experience. (All the bags were covered in something....not great).

To be honest the whole thing was kind of grubby and upsetting. It's not a good feeling to think you're getting ripped off for no apparent reason. The people shopping in the place just seemed resigned to it. A real shame.

The ironic thing was that after walking out of the supermarket (in shock) we saw a large group of people banging pots and pans in the street, which we later found out is some kind of protest about the financial situation here.

If I had to deal with this on a regular basis I'd be out there with a pan too!

FYI it's not like we can't afford the stuff we were looking at. I don't want to sound pretentious, but I'm a property developer with a decent portfolio and my other half is a pediatrician. We've managed to get a few months off to do some travelling before we get married. I'd definitely say we're not slumming it by any stretch of the imagination. It's not about the money, it's about the principal. If they want to charge Marks and Spencer prices (for example), try and follow the M&S business model, rather than that of a scabby local market.

I'm sure we'll love BA by the time we leave, it does have some wonderful qualities, but that was an experience that we really did find a bit off putting.

It kind of feels like this place is in a bubble, and a bit out of control... Let's just hope it doesn't burst anytime soon.

Cheers.

There is another side to grocery shopping in Buenos Aires and while I'm not going to defend anything about what you've experienced so far, I hope you stick around long enough to discover the alternatives for yourselves. Wherever you are staying right now, there are probably half a dozen greengrocers all selling better fruit and veg than the supermarkets and at lower prices. And at least one fresh pasta shop, butcher, baker, deli and "dietetica" or whole food shop. For every big name supermarket you see there will be a dozen family-run small supermarkets, each with their own specialities. If you are in the supermarket, look out for items marked "precios cuidados" for better value. There will be a "feria de ciudad" near you once or more a week where (apologies to Sainsbury's) good food costs less. It's all about being around long enough to find your own favourite places to enjoy buying stuff from.


Enjoy your stay. Where were you before BsAs and where are you off to next?

 

[Pabby1980]

There is another side to grocery shopping in Buenos Aires and while I'm not going to defend anything about what you've experienced so far, I hope you stick around long enough to discover the alternatives for yourselves. Wherever you are staying right now, there are probably half a dozen greengrocers all selling better fruit and veg than the supermarkets and at lower prices. And at least one fresh pasta shop, butcher, baker, deli and "dietetica" or whole food shop. For every big name supermarket you see there will be a dozen family-run small supermarkets, each with their own specialities. If you are in the supermarket, look out for items marked "precios cuidados" for better value. There will be a "feria de ciudad" near you once or more a week where (apologies to Sainsbury's) good food costs less. It's all about being around long enough to find your own favourite places to enjoy buying stuff from.


Enjoy your stay. Where were you before BsAs and where are you off to next?

Hi there.

We've actually done just that, we decided to try the local supermarkets here in Palermo and found a really well priced Chinese operated one. Found a bag of oven chips for £2 and some really nice bread so it's a chip butty for me tomorrow! Yay! (simple things)

Thanks for all the rest of the information it's really useful. I've just passed it on to the Mrs who's made a note for next time we're shopping.

We've come from San José, then to Panama City, Montevideo to here. We absolutely loved San José for anyone who's interested. Yes there was obvious signs of poverty, but the people were just so sweet and kind to us. We have limited Spanish but do try to communicate in the language whenever we are travelling, and as soon as we would speak Spanish in our obviously British accents they would immediately ask "where are you from, do you like it here, what is London like" etc etc. Really sweet people.

The Uruguayans were also nice to us for the most part.

We've had a decent experience here so far but some people are just outright rude. My other half as a doctor went to the farmacia to ask for sleeping tablets which she knew were prescription (we have a 13 hour flight ahead of us and we both struggle to sleep on planes), so that the pharmacist could tell her where to go to see a doctor. The pharmacist was utterly uninterested. My other half even explained using Google translate that she was a doctor and was simply looking for a quick appointment. The pharmacist looked at her like she was a piece of s**t on her shoe and just said "no". Then walked off.

Put an Argentinian in the same position in the UK and a pharmacist would bend over backwards to accommodate them. I can guarantee that.

It wasn't just the pharmacist either. The Argentinians next to us on the counter seemed to be smirking at our expense.

Maybe the UK vs Argentina thing is still a bit sore here, or maybe we just got unlucky. I don't know. I'm still going to be positive though and take each day as it comes.

We're off to New Zealand next. Which is also very pricy apparently, but we're still very excited. Its a place we've always wanted to go.

Thanks for your kind comment and advice, and all the best.

Paul and Catherine.