Readers see the change in their budget over increasing prices

Rice, milk, bread, eggs, apples, lettuce and tomatoes are typical items on a grocery list for most people, but as prices fluctuate for various items throughout the year, some readers tell us how they try to work around price changes.

For Farah Qaisar, who lives in Sharjah with her husband and son, increasing food prices have added a slight strain to her budget.

She said: “There has been a big difference to my budget even though the increase is 50 fils to Dh1 per item. One dirham on another, these small changes add up.”

For their bi-monthly bulk shopping trips, Qaisar said: “I shifted brands to try to find a more economic solution. Things like rice, flour, vegetables and eggs are more expensive. Rice has gone up by four times the price of what we used to spend.”

But not everyone is willing to switch brand names to save a few dirhams off certain products.

Abu Dhabi-based Surma Sarkar said she realised a few days ago how prices have gone up, but brand loyalty is important to her.

She said: “I don’t try switching brands because I have brand loyalty. I like the brands I buy because I know their quality. I don’t usually shop by prices because whatever I need to buy, I need to buy. There are not many options because the items are a necessity.”

On Sarkar’s shopping list, however, she noticed the essentials like vegetables, fruits, Indian mutton, eggs and rice have gone up.

“Oil prices have increased, maybe by Dh2 or Dh3. I used to buy a 5kg bag of rice for Dh15 and now it’s about Dh10 more,” explained Sarkar.

Similarly, Faiza Masood, who lives in Ajman, said that she too noticed that they are spending more at the supermarket. She said: “As a whole, we are spending more on groceries, but I can’t specify what items really. What I know is before, we used to spend about Dh2,500 or Dh3,000 and now its Dh3,500 a month.”

Other readers, however, didn’t notice any major changes in their grocery budget.

Asa Smith said they go shopping about once a week for their family of four and their pet dog. The Al Ain resident said, “We spend about Dh1,000 per week for our big shopping trip. I don’t pay a lot of attention to the prices and I haven’t noticed any differences either.”

Dubai-based Alan Godfrey also said he hasn’t experienced any major changes in his shopping budget. He said: “Once every few days we go shopping for perishables and once a month we go on a big shopping trip. But basics here are pretty cheap so there hasn’t been a big difference.”

Godfrey noted that there may be some items which have increased by a few dirhams.

“The quality meat items have gone up recently, perhaps a dirham here or there, but that’s not something big,” said Godfrey, especially when he compared food prices to his home in the United Kingdom.