My recent family vacation to Australia coincided with the May-long Loblaw boycott against soaring grocery prices in Canada, so I was interested in seeing how food costs compare down under.
The Commonwealth country, which is almost a day’s worth of travel flying from Toronto, has several major supermarket chains, including Aldi, Coles, IGA, and Woolworths.
To stay within our budget, we grocery shopped in some cities as we travelled along southeast Australia.
We popped into a Coles in Brisbane and a Metro (which is owned by Woolworths) in Melbourne, so I decided to compare prices of lunch staples to Loblaw’s discount supermarket chain, No Frills.
As we delve into comparisons, remember that the prices at these two stores are a small sample of food costs down under and don’t represent prices across the country. Nor do the price tags at No Frills represent food costs across Canada.
According to the latest exchange rate, one Canadian dollar equals AU$1.10. You should also know that Australia has a 10% Goods and Service Tax (GST) and that the price tags you see in stores already include the GST.
Now, let’s browse through Australian grocery aisles and see how prices compare back home.
Onions
Australia: A 1 kg bag of onions at Coles is AU$3.60, which is C$3.28.
Canada: A 1.36 kg bag of onions at No Frills is C$3.49.
Winner: Onions in Australia are just slightly cheaper.
Tomatoes
Australia: Tomatoes at Coles are AU$9.50 per kilogram, which is C$8.65
Canada: Tomatoes at No Frills are C$5.49 per kilogram.
Winner: Canada wins this round, with one kilogram equalling about five tomatoes.
Bread
Australia: Wonder brand white bread at Coles is AU$4.40, which is C$4.01.
Canada: North American Wonder white bread is regularly priced at C$2.99 at No Frills.
Winner: Canada takes the cake with this one, being over C$1 cheaper.
Strawberries
Australia: A package of 250 grams of strawberries at Metro is AU$5.40, which comes out to C$4.92.
Canada: A 454-gram package of strawberries at No Frills is C$3.88.
Winner: You get more bang for your buck in Canada when it comes to strawberries.
Milk
Australia: Three litres of Lite Australian milk costs AU$4.50, which is C$4.10. Since we’re comparing it to four litres of milk in Canada, and it costs AU$1.50 per litre, a four-litre jug would be AU$6, or C$5.46.
Canada: Four litres of bagged 1% milk at No Frills is $6.08.
Winner: Australian prices come out slightly cheaper for milk.
Eggs
Australia: A carton of 12 cage-free large eggs at Metro will run you AU$5.50 — about C$5.01.
Canada: A regular-priced carton of President’s Choice, free run large brown eggs is C$6.99.
Winner: Australian eggs are cheaper by nearly C$2.
Greek yogurt
Australia: A 907-gram tub of Chobani Greek yogurt is AU$7.90 at Coles, which is C$7.19.
Canada: A 750-gram tub of Liberté Greek yogurt costs C$5.99. Since we’re comparing it to 907 grams of yogurt in Australia, and it’s C$0.80 per 100 grams, 907 grams of this yogurt would cost around C$7.19.
Winner: It’s a tie when it comes to Greek yogurt.
Butter
Australia: 250 grams of salted butter at Coles is AU$4.30, which is $3.92. Since we’re comparing it to 454 grams of butter in Canada, which is almost double, that would cost around C$7.80.
Canada: A 454-gram block of Gay Lea salted butter at No Frills is C$8.29.
Winner: Australia wins, but not by much.
Chicken breast
Australia: The package of chicken breasts in the photo weighs 0.579 kg and costs AU$8.11, which is C$7.38.
Canada: A 0.725 package of Maple Leaf chicken breasts at No Frills is $13.
Winner: Despite a slight weight difference, the Australian price is cheaper by almost $6.
Based on this quick comparison, the difference between grocery shopping in Australia and Canada isn’t as big as I thought.
Most prices were on par when converted into Canadian dollars, and the similarities regarding food costs don’t stop there.
Australia has also been dealing with surges in grocery prices. Its supermarket giants have also been grilled over allegations of price gouging, which Canadian grocers are familiar with.
While the countries share the cost of living struggles, there are other differentiating factors that you need to consider.
This comparison didn’t factor in the provincial sales tax in Canada, which is only included on the grocery bill at check out.
Another is that the national minimum wage in Australia is set to increase to AU$24.10 per hour in July, up from AU$23.23. That’s more than Canada’s highest provincial minimum wage, which is C$19 in Nunavut.
A higher minimum wage could influence how much shoppers can afford when it comes to groceries.
To see how other countries compare, check out our comparison stories from the UK, the Philippines, and the US.