Cost comparisons – August 2015

This was the first of four quarterly surveys. For a summary of the results of all four surveys, click here. For the May 2016 survey, click here. For the February 2016 survey, click here. For the November 2015 survey, click here.

The survey took place in August 2015 (i.e. at the end of Winter) and all the shops surveyed were in Eltham. It focussed on veggies and fruit, but also covered other staples (eggs, bread, etc). Because they are not considered to be at all comparable, condiments etc were not included and, for similar reasons, meat was not covered. Certified Organic veggies were covered but, because they were often priced differently than non-organics (e.g. per bunch), they are not included in the analysis below.

Obviously there are caveats about the precise comparability (e.g. one seller’s bunch will be a different size than another’s; varieties; etc). For this reason, the results are presented in the aggregate only.

Summary of results (from a cost perspective only)

1. The market was generally a good option for both veggies (10% cheaper than the supermarket) and fruit (15% cheaper than the supermarket).

2. For veggies on average, the supermarket was the most expensive, the greengrocer was the cheapest, and the farmers’ market was between the two.

3. For fruit on average, the farmers’ market was the cheapest, with the other two roughly equal.

4. For other staples, the comparisons were a bit all over the place, with the farmers’ market prices being competitive for some items (e.g. free range eggs and camembert) but more expensive for others.

Veggies

In terms of scope:

• Around 30 different veggies were for sale at the market.¹
• For around 50% of these, there were multiple sellers. 10 of the veggies were available from a Certified Organic stall.
• All 30 veggies were also available from both the greengrocer and the supermarket.
• For some veggies, no cost comparisons are possible, mostly because of the differing units used for the pricing (e.g. per Kg vs per bunch).

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (24 veggies):

• Supermarket cheaper² for only 4 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for 13 of the veggies, and mostly significantly cheaper (by 20% or more).
• Prices the same for 7 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 10% cheaper than the supermarket.³

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (24 veggies):

• Greengrocer cheaper for 9 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for 6 of the veggies.
• Prices the same for 9 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 10% more expensive than the greengrocer.

Fruit

In terms of scope:

• 6 fresh fruit were for sale at the market.⁴
• For 4, there was only one seller. For the other 2 (applies, lemons), there was multiple sellers.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (6 fruit):

• Supermarket cheaper for only 1 fruit.
• Market cheaper for 4 fruit.
• Prices the same for 1 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 15% cheaper than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (6 fruit):

• Greengrocer not cheaper for any fruit.
• Market cheaper for 5 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 20% cheaper than the greengrocer.

Other staples

In terms of scope:

• The items compared were eggs, bread (*2) and cheese (*2).

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (5 items):

• Market cheaper for 1 item (camembert).
• Prices the same for 2 items (free range eggs, loaf).
• Market more expensive for 2 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 60% more expensive than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs small shop costs (5 items):

• Market not cheaper for any of the items.
• Prices the same for 3 items (free range eggs, loaf, camembert).
• Market more expensive for 2 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 25% more expensive than the small shop.

Footnotes

1. Beans, beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, coriander, fennel, garlic, kale, leeks, lettuce, mint, mushrooms, onions, pak choy, parsley, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, sage, silverbeet, spinach, spring onions.

2. For the purposes of this analysis, ‘cheaper’ means that the cost is at least 10% less and ‘more expensive’ means that the cost is at least 10% more.

3. The purpose of these ‘averages’ is to give a feel for the scale of the differences, not to provide arithmetically accurate quantifications. Let’s say that, for 3 items, the costs at place X were 3% more expensive, 10% cheaper and 20% cheaper respectively than the costs at place Y. Then the ‘average’ difference would be 9% ((10 + 20 – 3)/3).

4. Apples, avocados, lemons, mandarins, oranges, pears.