2 December 2008
COLES provided Illawarra shoppers with the best value basket of groceries last month, results from the Federal Government's latest price comparison survey show.
However, the same survey found Woolworths was the cheapest supermarket across most regions of Australia.The latest GroceryChoice survey shows that for a total grocery basket, Woolworths is cheapest in 45 of 61 regions surveyed. This compares to the previous survey published in November which showed Woolworths and Coles were cheapest in 30 regions each. But in south-eastern NSW, which includes the Illawarra, Coles was cheaper than Woolworths for six of nine different baskets of groceries, including the total grocery basket - which includes groceries from each of seven food categories.ALDI provides the cheapest basic staples basket in the region, which at $60.05 is $17 cheaper than anywhere else.Prices are calculated for the following grocery baskets: meat and seafood; fruit and vegetables; dairy; breads and cereals; drinks and snacks; general groceries; household and personal care.Each month, GroceryChoice publishes the price of typical grocery baskets for a range of supermarket retailers located in metropolitan, regional and rural regions across Australia. The website was launched in August to help "consumers find the cheapest supermarket chain in their area".However, it has come under criticism because some of the regions outside inner Sydney are large and take in many suburbs, meaning residents of those regions receive an average of prices from selected stores across all of those suburbs, rather than prices at individual stores nearby.It has been the subject of a takeover offer from CHOICE, who claim they could run the website more effectively.Results of the monthly surveys are issued on the first business day of the next month.
