The Cost of Groceries : Australia VS The UK

By Miriam Watson

(Currency Conversion Rate: 1.74 AUD equals 1 GBP)

There are a few noticeable differences between grocery shopping in Australia and grocery shopping in the UK. One of the main things that stands out is the fact there is a much more varied choice of supermarkets in the UK than there are here in Australia. Woolworths and Coles are the two major supermarkets in Australia and they account for 80 percent of the Australian market. In addition to Woolworths and Coles, there are also ALDI and IGa who both have a good reputation albeit whilst operating on a much smaller scale. In fact, Aldi began trading in Australia in 2001 and since then they have already gained approximately 11% of the east coast market.

In the UK, however, there are seventeen major supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose, to name but a few. Whilst there may be more to choose from in the UK, the
quality of food here in Australia tends to be that bit better considering the fact that the majority of products are Australian Made and fresh produce is generally imported very
seldomly.

In researching, we have discovered the following comparisons:

● 1 gallon of milk - Australia 5.38, the UK 5.38
● 1 llb of bread - Australia 1.36, the UK 1.49
● 1 llb of rice - Australia 1.26, the UK 0.95
● Eggs (12) - Australia 4.65, the UK 3.31
● Beef Round, 1 llb - Australia 7.10, the UK 6.19
● Chicken Breast, 1 llb - Australia 4.71, the UK 4.72
● Tea Bags (25) - Australia , the UK 2.10
● Instant Coffee 500g - Australia , the UK 11
● Potatoes - Australia 3.78, the UK 3.49
● Onions - Australia 2.73, the UK 1.40 per kg
● Garlic - Australia 2.93, the UK 3.12 per 500g
● Tomatoes - Australia 4.98, the UK 2.09
● Oranges - Australia 3.98, the UK 2.62
● Apples - Australia 4.63, the UK 3.49
● Bananas - Australia 4.63, the UK 1.80

Whilst some of the prices may seem expensive in comparison to the UK, the salary in Australia makes up for it, being 6,000 GBP, or 10,456 AUD, higher than the average UK salary. This is bound to make a difference when it comes to shopping for your favourite groceries.

SuperMarket Specials

One thing to look out for each week is the Supermarket specials. Unless you opt out of receiving unsolicited mail, each week you're likely to get catalogues in your mailbox detailing all the discounts a supermarket is having that week. If you take the opportunity to stock up on these products (assuming they're not perishable or have a long expiry date), this can be a great way of saving money in the long run. If you don't wish to recieve the paper based versions of the catalogues, then online digital copies are also available at:

• https://www.coles.com.au/catalogues-and-specials/view-all-available-catalogues
• https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/SpecialsGroups/catalogue
• http://www.iga.com.au/catalogue/
• https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/

Reward Cards

Supermarkets also offer rewards cards, offering you another way to save money:

Coles uses the flybuys card - https://www.flybuys.com.au/collect#/partners/coles

Woolworth uses the rewards card - https://www.woolworthsrewards.com.au/