Grocery Prices in Singapore

Gourmet sandwiches cost S$2.90 at the Medi-ya Supermarket, which is pretty ok to me.

gourmet sandwich

photo by bookjunkie

Canned Lychee costs S$1.70 at Cold Storage.

photo by bookjunkie

Blackberries cost S$7.90 for a small box at Cold Storage.

photo by bookjunkie

Marmalade costs S$5.90 at Marks and Spensers.

photo by bookjunkie

The Japanese fermented milk drink Calpis costs S$3.50 at the Medi-ya Supermarket.

photo by bookjunkie

A mango cake costs S$38 at the Crystal Jade Bakery.

photo by bookjunkie

A huge chunk of watermelon is just S$1.60. I would say at least this is affordable.

photo by bookjunkie

Milk from Hokkaido costs S$2.20 for a small packet. Expensive as you can get a big packet for that price, but of course the quality won’t be as good.

photo by bookjunkie

Daiso is so popular because everything costs just S$2, like these bowls.

photo by bookjunkie

Would love to hear what the prices are like in your country. Would you consider our food prices high? It has been reported that people in Singapore are feeling the effects of inflation as our food prices escalate. I feel this is mainly at restaurants and due to the Goods and Services Tax (7%) plus the service charge (10%) which come up to 17% of the total bill. Now that’s a huge chunk.

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.
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28 Responses to Grocery Prices in Singapore

  1. Crystal says:

    I think there’s a huge variance in how expensive groceries are depending on what you buy, and where you buy it.

    Our grocery bill is ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous. It’s not uncommon for me to spend $50 on a cut of meat that will last only the night (steak for two) because I want a high quality cut of meat.

    Kool-aid is $7 SGD (roughly 5 USD) when it’s $2 USD at home. Ben & Jerry’s is so expensive, it makes me want to cry. Peanut Butter is pricey. I’ll have to do some notes for comparison when I’m home 🙂

    As Americans keeping an American diet, my grocery bill has more than doubled when I compare it to home. But that is our choice, and there are certainly cheaper options.

    Milk/Eggs/Bread are probably the same.

  2. Al says:

    Omg.. the sandwich is so expensive @_@;;

    And the Japanese imports are so expensive! They’re only JPY100 and the bottle juices/tea are only JPY150 =.=;; Even in Kuala Lumpur, they cost only somewhere between MYR5 – MYR7. In Hong Kong, they are somewhere around HKD10. SGD3.5 – SGD4 each is quite mind-boggling. But then again, to measure dollar to dollar, it’s fair 🙂

    I noticed pharmacies in Singapore sell many hair and body care products cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur, and at times even cheaper than Hong Kong. And the prices are after conversion. I also find hair/body care products reasonably priced in Japan 🙂 I haven’t stayed in Singapore before… however, with my very limited knowledge that I have about Lion City, grocery price wise, it is on the friendly side 🙂

    • bookjunkie says:

      I think that’s why when we have a chance we like to buy things like pharmaceuticals products and such from Malaysia. But only some items are cheaper. Sometimes also in the heartlands of SIngapore, like Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh things can be cheaper, but I wonder if they are originals or fakes. Like toothpaste can be half the price at a store in Toa Payoh, but upon checking I find that it’s made in Thailand as opposed to Australia. There is a bit of difference in the taste as well. I heard that Australia has more stringent standards and that may be the reason for the price difference.

      I guess the Japanese products are expensive as they have been air-flown in. Sometimes I just can’t resist buying one small packet of milk. Just for a taste.

      • Al says:

        Oh… haha. That’s interesting 🙂 It never occured to me toothpaste could come in premium and economy versions in different parts of the country. Personally, I don’t think the toothpaste are fake items though. Made-in-Thailand toothpaste (and other body care products) are widely sold in Malaysia and many can also be found in Hong Kong 🙂 I think the difference in tastes could be a result of different standards set by the health ministries of the different countries. Religious concerns could also be a factor. I remember seeing “halal” stamp on body care products 🙂 Perhaps it isn’t so much the quality (major MNCs should have standard QC guidelines, I think), it could be that cost of production in Thailand is so much more cheaper in Thailand than in Australia. It could also be free trade agreement between ASEAN nations, perhaps?

        • bookjunkie says:

          I am noticing this quite a bit in Singapore. There’s even Singapore made milo, Singapore milo made with Australian recipie and then the most expensive which is milo imported and made in Australia. Of course the last one tastes the richest. It also doesn’t have the trans fat of palm oil if I’m not mistaken.

          • Tabea says:

            Made in Asia Milo is an abomination. Ditto chocolate. It’s because Asian Milo and chocolates contain the magic ingredient of palm oil, which makes it cheaper to produce but also incredibly bad for you.

            In a Malaysian shop, I once saw two kinds of Cadbury’s chocolate side by side. One was 5RM, one was 10RM. The 5RM one was made in Malaysia and the main ingredients were palm oil and sugar. The 10RM one was made in Australia and the main ingredients were cocoa mass, cocoa butter and full cream milk. I think I know which I prefer.

      • Al says:

        Yes, yes, don’t we all 🙂 I also like buying foreign imports and/or novel food just to taste them 😀

  3. s n lim says:

    i bought 80% organic food and cook almost every meal and monthly food bill is about $1500.00 BUT my family do not
    have the lux of ice cream, biscuits, soft drinks unless we have guests. I make my own dumplings, wantons, fishcakes, ngoh hiongs, glutinous chicken rice wrapped
    in lotus leaves, tempura, tongkatsu, gyudon, buta-don,
    otak and fish cakes etc etc.. and my husband sometimes has his one bottle of wine or two depend whether we have guests or not. i also share my cooking with an old single
    lady and some other friends who are not too well.. and
    my kids bring friends to eat too. We do not go out to
    eat like others because we prefer homecooked food. yes,
    the costs of living is rising but i managed to get away
    from cooking at home .. i feel we have to change our so-called lifestyle from eating outside to eat homecooked food. It is not only healthier and we do not
    have to worry for medical costs when we get older..this is another way to save too!! Remember we are what we eat. The government will not reduce health-care costs,
    we have to take care of our health ourselves…i mean
    self-help is most reliable even if it is hardwork..Do you know ONE in THREE persons has cancer ?? Food plays
    a big factor, moreover we have a more stressful life too.We have to look after ourselves, no body will help us..

  4. Jace says:

    s n lim, we both totally think alike. Food is the main source that determines our health and the increase of cancer rates is directly linked to the food we consume. With so much chemicals, preservatives etc going into our food, it is the silent killer for human kind. Sadly, not many people take the time to just think about the food chain but mostly been deceived by the marketing tactics. Sigh!

  5. Tabea says:

    I now live in the UK and everytime I go back to Singapore, I am shocked at how expensive prices in supermarkets are.

    I am lucky to have flexible tastebuds so I leverage on price differentials across countries. So for example, here in the UK, two of the cheapest cuts of meat are chicken wings (£2 a kilo for fresh chicken wings) and belly pork (about £4.50 a kilo for fresh British pork, and often there will be information about the farm and the farmer who reared the pig).

    Most British people will only eat boneless skinless chicken breast, so that’s the most expensive cut. In some supermarkets, one such boneless skinless breast will cost £2.99! In contrast, you can get three whole chickens for £10, so I learnt how to joint a chicken and save a lot of money that way.

    But of course, what remains ridiculously cheap in Singapore is hawker centre and food court food. It’s really cheap even compared to other Asian countries e.g. Hong Kong. By comparison, most office workers in the UK buy a cold, pre-packaged sandwich for lunch. This costs anything from £1.99-£3.49 which compares very unfavourably to the fresh, hot food cooked to order at a hawker centre.

    In my ideal world, I’d have my Singapore hawker centres plus my British supermarkets.

    PS Did I mention the frequent half price/buy one get one free offers on premium ice cream, so that a pint of Haagen Dazs/Ben and Jerry’s is only £1.99-£2.49? And that palm oil ice cream, so widespread in Singapore, is unheard of in the UK, thank goodness!

  6. Timothy says:

    If you want to save, go to Sheng Siong supermarkets, they import many things from nearby Malaysia and therefore has less import fees in their prices. Flours, rice, oats and brown sugar are cheaper there too.

    If you want oats, stop buying Quaker oats that source their oats from Canada. Choose Mornflakes imported oats from the UK that costs half the price of Quaker but taste very creamy! But it is packaged in Malaysia.

    Cocoa powder, flour, sugar and bulk yeast is cheaper at Phoon Huat baking stores.

    Many foods in US supermarkets are GMOs, so even if they are cheaper they are not worth it.

    I have tasted Nutella from the UK that is made from Italy. It is bittersweet and has a much richer and delicious taste of hazelnuts than the ones made in Australia that taste so yucky sweet. So even though some products can be more expensive, they are worth it than cheaper alternatives.

    The locals can save on groceries because they buy from local-catered stores. But expats can spend more because they often spend at expat-catered stores.

  7. Timothy says:

    And Crystal Jade offers about 40% and onwards discounts after 8:30 pm.

    The mango cake that costs S$38 would be priced at $22.80 after 8:30pm.

  8. Mary says:

    Hi Timothy, and other posters: My niece need to save money big time if she got her scholarship to study in Singapore, if not she’s going to starve, seriously! Could any one pls tell me where /which local markets she can get cheap vegi & meat or fish to cook in the hostels/dorm? Are eggs expensive too? Your reply is greatly appreciated. my email:varia_nada@yahoo.com Please help. Thanks. Mary

    • bookjunkie says:

      The cheapest items (basic stuff like rice, eggs and such) can usually be found at the NTUC supermarkets as this is a government linked supermarket that is sort of subsidized I think. Hope that helps Mary.

  9. Shilpa says:

    So I can just double check that you do get kool aid in cold storage?? Please let me!!!

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