SINGAPORE: An average Singaporean spends US$158 (S$211) on groceries every month, according to a recent study of grocery costs among people from 105 countries.
The study from picodi.com also showed that Singapore ranked second among all the countries for the percentage of money spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages. The United States ranks first, with only 6.7 per cent of household expenses going to groceries, followed by Singapore, which makes up 8.4 per cent of a household’s costs.
In contrast, there are five countries from Picodi’s study where groceries take up over half of household expenses: Laos (50.6 per cent), Bangladesh (52.7 per cent), Kenya (56.1 per cent), Myanmar (56.6 per cent), and Nigeria (59 per cent).
“The collected data shows that, depending on a country, grocery spendings can vary from a few percent up to over half of consumer spending.
For example, less than a tenth of spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages consumed at home can be found in countries such as the USA – 6.7 per cent, Singapore – 8.4 per cent, the UK – 8.7 per cent, Ireland – 9.2 per cent and Switzerland – 9.9 per cent,” the study says.
In the APAC region, the high prices of groceries in an area are reflected in the amounts spent on groceries per month. Hong Kong ($306 or S$415) is number one, followed by New Zealand ($290 or S$393 per month) and Japan ($288 or S$319 per month).
On the opposite end, the lowest monthly grocery costs in the region are Pakistan ($32 or S$43.39 month), India ($37 or S$50.17 month) and Myanmar ($42 or S$57 per month).
As for Singapore’s nearest neighbours, on average, Malaysians spend $145 or S$197 per month on groceries, and Indonesians spend $67 or S$91 per month.
Picodi.com used the most recent household food and non-alcoholic beverages consumption statistics from Euromonitor, as well as official government websites, for the study. /TISG