The Price of Food - 2009
Here's a quick look at a breakdown of grocery shopping in Turkey compared to the UK in a hope to finally settle the argument of which is cheapest. We selected 50 items, including branded and unbranded items, imported, and local goods, and compared Migros, to the same (or equivalent) items in Sainsburys, and used a 2.45 conversion rate between TL and GBP to get everything in the same currency.
Here's the full list of the items, and their converted price (in TL, GBP converted at 2.45)
| Section | Description | Migros (TL) | Sainsburys (TL) |
| Cleaning | Branded Fabric Softener (4L) | 6.90 TL | 9.51 TL |
| Cleaning | Branded Washing-up Liquid (1.5L) | 4.25 TL | 6.25 TL |
| Cleaning | Calgon Quantum Dishwasher Tablets (60) | 19.90 TL | 45.57 TL |
| Cleaning | Persil Washing Powder (6kg) | 19.90 TL | 29.40 TL |
| Dairy | Butter (250g) | 2.75 TL | 2.14 TL |
| Dairy | Dairylea slices (240g) | 3.99 TL | 3.19 TL |
| Dairy | Eggs (6) | 1.39 TL | 2.94 TL |
| Dairy | Margarine (500g) | 3.25 TL | 3.43 TL |
| Dairy | UHT Milk (1L) | 1.29 TL | 1.47 TL |
| Dairy | Yogurt (1kg) | 2.39 TL | 3.68 TL |
| Drinks | Coca-Cola (8x330ml)) | 7.15 TL | 7.15 TL |
| Drinks | Fanta (1.5L) | 1.45 TL | 2.94 TL |
| Drinks | Fruit Juice (1L) | 1.30 TL | 2.94 TL |
| Drinks | Bombay Sapphire Gin (70cl) | 42.50 TL | 38.74 TL |
| Drinks | Own Brand Vodka (70cl) | 19.90 TL | 19.72 TL |
| Drinks | Lager (4x500ml) | 7.35 TL | 9.80 TL |
| Drinks | Nescafe Classic (200g) | 9.15 TL | 10.88 TL |
| Drinks | Nescafe Gold (100g) | 6.90 TL | 7.23 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Casserole Steak (1kg) | 20.00 TL | 13.97 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Chicken Breasts (1kg) | 6.25 TL | 19.60 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Chicken Thighs (1kg) | 4.99 TL | 6.59 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Diced Lamb (1kg) | 20.19 TL | 24.50 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Fresh Salmon fillets (1kg) | 13.90 TL | 17.15 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Beef Steak (1kg) | 18.00 TL | 28.13 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Beef - Casserole (1kg) | 16.00 TL | 12.25 TL |
| Fish & Meat | Whole Chicken for roasting (1kg) | 4.39 TL | 4.66 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Bananas (1kg) | 3.00 TL | 1.91 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Carrots (1kg) | 1.00 TL | 2.08 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Cauliflower (1kg) | 1.69 TL | 6.44 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Frozen Peas (600g) | 1.90 TL | 2.70 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Grany Smith Apples (1kg) | 2.95 TL | 3.60 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | Potatoes (1kg) | 0.85 TL | 1.25 TL |
| Fruit & Veg | White Cabbage (1kg) | 0.79 TL | 2.33 TL |
| Pantry | Dried Chickpeas (1kg) | 3.49 TL | 4.90 TL |
| Pantry | Flour (1kg) | 1.40 TL | 1.23 TL |
| Pantry | Green Lentils (1kg) | 4.50 TL | 4.31 TL |
| Pantry | Ketchup (800g) | 2.25 TL | 2.74 TL |
| Pantry | Mayonnaise (400g) | 2.65 TL | 1.96 TL |
| Pantry | Pasta (500g) | 1.25 TL | 1.91 TL |
| Pantry | Red Lentils (1kg) | 3.90 TL | 3.92 TL |
| Pantry | Rice (1kg) | 3.16 TL | 3.19 TL |
| Pantry | Special K (250g) | 3.50 TL | 4.15 TL |
| Pantry | Tinned Sweetcorn (220g) | 0.95 TL | 1.02 TL |
| Personal | Ambre Solaire SPF 20 (200ml) | 21.25 TL | 26.34 TL |
| Personal | Palmolive Shower Gel (300ml) | 4.95 TL | 4.53 TL |
| Personal | Dove Shampoo (400ml) | 5.75 TL | 9.31 TL |
| Personal | Gillette Mach3 Turbo Razors (x4) | 17.90 TL | 14.31 TL |
| Snacks | Ferrero Rocher (300gr) | 11.75 TL | 12.23 TL |
| Snacks | Kitkat (40g) | 0.65 TL | 0.71 TL |
| Snacks | Pringles (170g) | 4.50 TL | 3.92 TL |
| Total Basket Price: | 371.41 TL | 454.80 TL |
Here's how the baskets break down by section:
Cleaning Products: 7% cheaper in Turkey
Dairy Products: 9% cheaper in Turkey
Drinks: 18% cheaper in Turkey
Fish and Meat: 2% cheaper in Turkey
Fruit and Veg: 31% cheaper in Turkey
General 'pantry' items: 5% cheaper in Turkey
Personal Hygiene: 6% cheaper in Turkey
Snacks: 1% cheaper in the UK
Overall the basket was 18% cheaper in Turkey. Now of course everyone will have their own view of this, and yes, it's quickly afftected by exchange rate fluctuations, and a few items, but one thing's clear - if you shop smartly in Turkey, buying domestic (i.e. Turkish made) items, it's easy to save money compared to a similar shop in the UK.