Cost comparisons – November 2015

This was the second 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 August 2015 survey, click here.

The survey took place in November 2015 (i.e. late Spring) 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 (similar to the supermarket) and fruit (20% cheaper than the supermarket).

2. For veggies on average, the greengrocer was the cheapest, with the other two roughly equal.

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) but more expensive for others.

Veggies

In terms of scope:

• Around 35 different veggies were for sale at the market.¹ This compared with around 30 in the winter survey.²
• For around 50% of these, there were multiple sellers. 15 of the veggies were available from a Certified Organic stall.
• Just about all 40 veggies were also available from the greengrocer, with around 35 being available from 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 (28 veggies):

• Supermarket cheaper³ for 8 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for 8 of the veggies.
• Prices the same for 12 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 5% more expensive than the supermarket.⁴

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (25 veggies):

• Greengrocer cheaper for 13 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for only 1 of the veggies.
• Prices the same for 11 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 15% more expensive than the greengrocer.

Fruit

In terms of scope:

• 10 fresh fruit were for sale at the market.⁵ This compared with 6 in the winter survey.⁶
• For most fruit, there was only one seller.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (9 fruit):

• Supermarket cheaper for only 2 fruit.
• Market cheaper for 7 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 20% cheaper than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (8 fruit):

• Greengrocer cheaper for only 1 fruit.
• Market cheaper for 6 fruit.
• Prices the same for 1 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 15% cheaper than the greengrocer.

Other staples

In terms of scope:

• The items compared were eggs, bread (*2) and cheese (*4).

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (7 items):

• Market not cheaper for any of the items.
• Prices the same for 2 items (free range eggs, fetta).
• Market more expensive for 5 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 90% more expensive than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs small shop costs (7 items):

• Market cheaper for 2 items (free range eggs, brie).
• Prices the same for 1 item (camembert).
• Market more expensive for 4 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 50% more expensive than the small shop.

Footnotes

1. Asparagus, beans, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, coriander, fennel, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mint, mushrooms, onions, pak choy, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket, sage, silverbeet, spinach, spring onions, watercress and zucchini.

2. The veggies that were available at the spring market but not at the winter market included asparagus, broad beans, chives, peas, rocket and zucchini.

3. 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.

4. 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).

5. Apples, apricots, avocados, blueberries, cherries, lemons, mandarins, oranges, peaches/nectarines and strawberries.

6. The fruit that was available at the spring market but not at the winter market comprised: apricots, blueberries, cherries, nectarines/peaches and strawberries. Pears, which were at the winter market, were not at the spring market.