Here's how a shopping trip for food essentials in the North compares to the Republic

A pack of spaghetti up North is half the price it is here, while food writer Caitriona Redmond was able to make a week's meals from a £29 Asda shop. Why is Ireland's food so expensive?

Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 25-2-2022 Caitriona Redmond feature on cross-border shopping for household food items. Photo: Alan Lewis

Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sharp increases in food and fuel prices, inflation had been causing a rise in the price of essentials that was beginning to hurt people on lower incomes.

After I wrote in the Irish Examiner recently about the effect of inflation and increased grocery prices on families on a budget, a number of readers contacted me to ask if I had heard of Jack Monroe. Jack is a food writer and social justice activist, who raised British awareness of a rise in food prices in January 2022. 

Jack’s work prompted a return to low prices at Asda after their work showed that a rise in budget food prices had contributed to food poverty in the UK. But how does Ireland fare when it comes to low priced staple foods?

Unfortunately, there are major discrepancies between the cost of budget food in Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Because our eldest now lives and studies in Belfast, I’ve kept a close eye on price differences between here and there, and there is no contest when it comes to cheap food.

There are many reasons why there are such differences in the cost of staples between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Firstly, the cost of commercial rent is lower in Northern Ireland and across the UK, then there are the higher wages and living costs in the 26 counties. 

There is no Asda south of the border, nor is there a Sainsbury’s to refer to either - both of which are strong in the budget department.

I’ve been stocking up on staples every time we make the trip to Belfast for quite some time now. This has been all in an effort to get the shopping budget down so I can free up the money for something else. There is always something else to be paid for or something that the children need.

Asda in Westwood, Belfast is two minutes off the main M1 motorway to the south of Belfast, another 10 minutes on the motorway would get you to the city centre. It’s extremely handy to get to. We had visited Belfast during the midterm with the kids so that they could see their sister, with the added bonus of being able to stock up the car on the way home.

Last Friday, I popped in to pick up my dried foodstuffs for the month along with a few extra value brand items to try at home. I mainly buy dried food like pasta and rice and I’d rarely pick up tinned foods because I always assumed that those items would be better value closer to home. 

After undertaking this exercise I’ve changed my mind on certain things and you can see why. It costs 20p (25c) for a 500g bag of spaghetti in Asda. The cheapest option from SuperValu is still nearly double that price at 47c. Considering I can make two family meals from a 500g bag, these savings all add up. 

Caitriona Redmond with her receipt from Asda, at the Kennedy Centre in Belfast. There is no Asda south of the border, nor is there a Sainsbury’s to refer to either — both of which are strong in the budget department. Picture: Alan Lewis

Half a dozen free-range medium eggs cost me 88p (€1.08) but down South these universally cost €1.59 in the supermarket. That’s some price difference when you’ve hungry mouths to feed. Eggs are an excellent, budget source of protein for growing kids.

As I made my way to the till I was mentally totting up this shop; there were a couple of items in the trolley that I don’t normally buy. Mind you, I was going to be a hero to the smaller people in the family with a bag of frozen chicken nuggets which are contraband in our house. 

The checkout operator pinged through the shopping and presented me with the bill which was £29.90 and included three shopping bags because I had forgotten to bring some with me and didn’t fancy tins rolling around the back of the car all the way home.

I took a very deep breath at how little it cost. The staff member smiled and told me that at the weekend the southern accents are very prevalent in the supermarket. She said that people from south of the border are driving to Belfast and filling their trolleys with wine, spirits, and dried pasta. There was another Dublin accent in the queue. I wasn’t on my own.

Leaving the shop, I felt like shouting about the figure on the bottom of my till receipt at all the locals going about their weekly shop. Twenty-nine pounds even after buying bags. Incredible.

Other items that were significantly cheaper than my local supermarkets included branded washing powders and dishwasher tablets. You may just clean up if you can afford to buy these in bulk also. Every time we make the trip to Belfast to visit the eldest student in the family I stock up on multiples of the dried staples that are the cheapest compared to Irish prices. 

Caitriona Redmond’s bill at Asda in Westwood, Belfast, which is two minutes off the main M1 motorway to the south of Belfast, Photo: Alan Lewis

Using what I bought for that £29 in Asda I’ve made up a huge pasta bake, a three-bean chilli, fish with waffles and beans, pancakes, breakfasts, and curry, all by supplementing the basics with what I have in my spice rack and deliveries from the milkman. I will also have oodles of dried goods for the weeks ahead, until the next trip that is.

For those wondering, the frozen food was mainly tasteless and I wouldn’t rate it except the frozen beef mince with onion was a revelation for those on a budget. It was high in water content but browned well on a hot pan for that pasta bake. I’ve not been able to find similar near me but I will be keeping an eye out. 

I won’t need to do a ‘big shop’ for a fortnight and will simply nip to the butcher for meat and get some fruit and veg from the local farm shop. Still, I am a hero for buying frozen chicken nuggets so maybe they were worth it after all.

Cost of travelling North to stock up

While there is a large discrepancy in the case of many of the store cupboard items I bought in Belfast last week compared to Irish stores, it may not make sense to drive all the way to Northern Ireland. The cost of fuel is climbing upwards and to drive from Junction 5 on the M50 to Asda in Belfast (and back) will cost you approximately €47.76 worth of fuel as of prices on March 10, 2022. 

Plus you’ll need to set aside at least five hours in your day to drive there, do the shopping, then drive home.

If you were to drive from a border town such as Drogheda to Newry to visit Sainsbury’s instead (where the prices are slightly higher but similar for dried goods) you can expect to pay just under €22 in “juice” which is an awful lot cheaper than driving from Dublin to Belfast. Let’s not even think about driving from Cork.

For many people in border counties, the trip to Northern Ireland to stock up is made about once a month. It’s a jaunt for the day where they fill up the car with items that are clearly cheaper than south of the border. 

Plus, there’s the added bonus of the wider gap in alcohol prices. While I was in Asda I spotted a bottle of organic prosecco priced at £6 (€7.37) which is just over half the price of a similar organic bottle of bubbly in Aldi today (€13.99). If the cost of alcohol is something that bothers you then trips to the border would be more cost-effective.

Another thing to bear in mind is that if the exchange rate fluctuates in favour of the euro it’ll cost less to buy staples up North so it’s worth keeping an eye on the exchange rate and making the trip if that happens.

Items	Asda (in €)	Tesco	Dunnes	SuperValu	Aldi
Juice Boxes	€1.11	€1.50	€1.25	€1.25	€0.99
Granola Bars	€0.75	€1.20	€2.33	€1.79	€1.19
Eggs (Free range)	€1.08	€1.59	€1.59	€1.59	€1.59
Tinned Sweetcorn	€0.43	€0.25	€0.28	€0.27	€0.27
Garlic Bread	€0.39	€0.45	€0.69	€0.35	€0.28
Golden Syrup	€1.78	€1.59	€1.49	€2.85	€1.39
Frozen Peas	€0.86	€0.64	€0.69	€0.53	€0.64
Self Raising Flour	€0.55	€1.19	€1.19	€1.24	€1.19
Salted Nacho Chips	€0.50	€0.55	€2.79	€0.59	€0.55
Porridge Oats	€0.92	€0.66	€1.00	€0.70	€0.99
Pasta	€0.36	€0.69	€0.59	€0.47	€0.50
Tinned Tomatoes	€0.34	€0.29	€0.35	€0.35	€0.29
Tinned Tuna	€0.72	€0.59	€0.80	€0.99	€0.87
Tinned Kidney Beans	€0.37	€0.23	€0.97	€0.23	€0.59
Tinned Peaches	€0.38	€0.55	€1.00	€1.82	€0.52
Rice	€0.55	€0.99	€1.00	€1.05	€0.99
Fish Fingers	€0.85	€0.99	€1.49	€1.19	€1.19
Tinned Tomato Soup	€0.29	€0.55	€1.55	€1.45	€0.49
Spaghetti	€0.25	€0.53	€0.59	€0.47	€0.50
Tomato Puree	€0.68	€0.49	€0.85	€1.02	€0.49
Salted Cashews	€0.92	€1.29	€1.25	€2.35	€1.69
Salted Peanuts	€0.57	€1.25	€0.95	€0.47	€0.47
Frozen Breaded Fish	€1.54	€1.69	€3.00	€2.00	€1.69
Marmalade	€0.33	€0.49	€0.50	€0.49	€0.49
Gravy Granules	€0.31	€0.55	€1.50	€1.15	€0.79
Frozen Chicken Nuggets	€1.04	€1.39	€1.65	€1.65	€0.99
Bran Flakes	€1.47	€1.59	€1.00	€0.99	€0.99
Ketchup	€0.52	€0.67	€0.50	€0.63	€0.79
Frozen Potato Waffles	€1.35	€0.99	€1.00	€1.09	€0.99
Tinned Baked Beans	€0.27	€0.25	€0.25	€0.25	€0.25
Totals	€21.48	€25.68	€34.09	€31.27	€24.65
Lasagne Costs
Mince		€3.50	€2.00	€2.89	€1.99
Lasagne Sheets		€0.69	€1.00	€0.49	€0.55
Tinned Tomatoes		€0.29	€0.35	€0.35	€0.29
Puree		€0.49	€0.99	€1.02	€0.49
Grated Mozzarella		€0.99	€1.09	€1.00	€1.69
Totals		€5.96	€5.43	€5.75	€5.01
With Energy Costs		€6.81	€6.28	€6.60	€5.86
Ready Meal
1kg Carroll		€6.99	€5.24	€6.99	N/A
1kg Own Brand		€6.00	N/A	€6.50	3.19
With Energy Costs		€6.42	€5.66	€6.92	3.61
Fuel to Belfast from M50
KM Distance Return	320.00		€1.99 for fuel on March 10
Average Fuel Consumption	24L for 320km
Cost of Fuel	€47.76
Cost of Time (Min Wage)	€52.50		Allow 5-hour round trip
Overall cost	€100.26
Fuel from Balbriggan to Newry
KM Distance Return	€150.00
Fuel Consumption	11L
Cost of Fuel	€21.89
Cost of Time	€31.50		Allow 3-hour round trip
Overall Cost	€50.75

 

With increasing energy costs, is it really cheaper to make your own lasagne at home?

There is no doubt in my mind that it is better to make your own lasagne at home. However, with energy costs increasing and having a busy household to juggle along with working there is a huge attraction in buying a lasagne from the chiller cabinet and reheating it in my oven.

The overall cost is complicated by the myriad of ingredients required. For example, you only need a few cloves of garlic to make a lasagne but you will buy a bulb. Plus some people will buy premade ‘red’ and ‘white’ sauces while others will make everything from scratch. 

For the purposes of this review, I’ve accepted that you already have onions, garlic, and spices/herbs in your store cupboard. I’ve also simplified the ingredients and removed the ‘white’ sauce that you may be used to, replacing it with some grated cheese instead.

Most ovens or cookers consume 2kWhs (Kilowatt Hours) of energy for every hour that you operate the appliance. The average cost per kWh in Ireland at the moment is 20c, however, this rises to as much as 24c if you are a customer on a prepay arrangement with your supplier. 

If you don’t know how to cook for yourself or you don’t have enough pots/pans/physical energy to make this meal it’s clear that the chiller section lasagne is the most convenient and money-saving option.

This means that to reheat a convenience lasagne it will cost you between 40c-48c for one hour of cooking. If you cook from scratch and it takes about two hours, then that cost doubles. I’ve averaged this energy cost out as 85c to cook a lasagne from scratch.

There’s another factor that’s not included in the calculations above; that’s the time you have to spend making a meal from scratch. Give your time a value equivalent to the minimum wage. Putting a lasagne in the oven to reheat isn’t that taxing but to make a full recipe will require an hour of your time. That seriously increases the cost of making your own meal.

Ultimately, from the prices above you can see that there is a huge variation in some instances between the cost of making your own and popping that convenient tray into the oven. In particular, I have had to check the price on the Aldi own-brand lasagne several times because I cannot figure out the price discrepancy compared to the other brands.

Making your own meal from scratch not only requires energy and time but also requires your skills and expertise along with the correct equipment. If you don’t know how to cook for yourself or you don’t have enough pots/pans/physical energy to make this meal it’s clear that the chiller section lasagne is the most convenient and money-saving option.

Notes:

*All prices effective 10th March 2022.

*The shopping basket was assessed on a like-for-like basis so where a selected supermarket did not stock an item that was purchased in Asda, the item was removed from the full list for assessment purposes.

*The exchange rate applied was 0.8141, while the actual exchange rate is more beneficial, this was the rate that the bank applied to my account when I made the purchases using my card, similar to the vast majority of other consumers.

Caitriona Redmond blogs about feeding her family on a budget at www.wholesomeireland.com. She is the author of ‘Wholesome – Feed Your Family Well For Less’ which was published by Mercier Press in 2014.