How much does food cost in Dubai?
Contents of this article
The price of food in Dubai is a topic that can be very moot, as food prices differ around the world and your perception of the food cost will fully depend on what you are used to back home.
A South African colleague of mine told me that he found fruit ridiculously expensive here. For me, fruit, vegetables, fish and seafood are rather cheap, while beef seems to be a little too expensive. In other words, it depends.
All the prices below came from my receipts from supermarkets during last couple of months. The supermarkets are: Union CO-OP Society, Waitrose, Spinney’s and Almaya. You may not find something you are used to, like sugar – that’s only because we don’t eat sugar. We eat more vegetables than anything else, so the fruit & vegetable section is the biggest.
Waitrose supermarket at the Dubai Mall
The Euro, US Dollars and British Pound prices are calculated as a simple conversion based on the 21st of December exchange rate. It will be updated once in one or two months.
Use the living cost calculator for a deeper insight into how much money you need to live in Dubai.
Food & grocery
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | Australia | 1 kg | 50.00 | 9.52 | 13.62 | 8.44 |
| Beef | Brazil | 1 kg | 30.00 | 5.71 | 8.17 | 5.06 |
| Bread, farm house | UAE, Waitrose bakery | 1 pc | 2.25 | 0.43 | 0.61 | 0.38 |
| Bread, with seeds | UAE, Waitrose bakery | 1 pc | 4.85 | 0.92 | 1.32 | 0.82 |
| Cheese, Cheddar | Begga | 1 kg | 40.00 | 7.61 | 10.90 | 6.75 |
| Cheese, Philadelphia cream | KRAFT Foods | 300g pack | 12.05 | 2.29 | 3.28 | 2.03 |
| Chicken | UAE | 1 kg | 30.00 | 5.71 | 8.17 | 5.06 |
| Eggs, DHA Omega-3 | UAE | 12-eggs pack | 19.95 | 3.80 | 5.43 | 3.37 |
| Fish, Black Seabream | 1 kg | 44.00 | 8.37 | 11.99 | 7.42 | |
| Fish, Salmon, fillet | Norway | 1 kg | 68.00 | 12.94 | 18.52 | 11.47 |
| Fish, Seabass | 1 kg | 48.00 | 9.13 | 13.08 | 8.10 | |
| Flour, self-raising | UAE, Home Pride | 1.5kg pack | 8.65 | 1.65 | 2.36 | 1.46 |
| Honey, acacia | Nectaflor, Switzerland | 250ml | 17.60 | 3.35 | 4.79 | 2.97 |
| Ice cubes | UAE | 1 pack | 2.50 | 0.48 | 0.68 | 0.42 |
| Olive oil, extra virgin | Borges | 16.95 | 3.23 | 4.62 | 2.86 | |
| Peas split, yellow | Waitrose | 5.50 | 1.05 | 1.50 | 0.93 | |
| Rice | Basmati | 1 kg | 15.50 | 2.95 | 4.22 | 2.61 |
| Sour cream | Elle&Vire | 250g | 8.75 | 1.67 | 2.38 | 1.48 |
| Spaghetti | 1 pack | 4.95 | 0.94 | 1.35 | 0.84 | |
| Sugar icing | Whitworth | 9.00 | 1.71 | 2.45 | 1.52 |
Fruit and vegetables
If you go to the Fruit & Vegetable Market, you can save quite some money comparing to what you will see below. But you have to bargain a lot. When the mongers see a western-looking person, they will set their prices higher than the prices in shops! Don’t get fooled.
Some friends of mine like to bargain. I can’t stand it and don’t normally do that.
Vegetables
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | Australia | 1 kg | 20.50 | 3.90 | 5.58 | 3.46 |
| Cabbage, white | 1 kg | 3.00 | 0.57 | 0.82 | 0.51 | |
| Capsicum | 1 kg | 14.50 | 2.76 | 3.95 | 2.45 | |
| Carrot | Australia | 1 kg | 4.45 | 0.85 | 1.21 | 0.75 |
| Cauliflower | 1 kg | 8.90 | 1.69 | 2.42 | 1.50 | |
| Cucumber, organic | UAE | 1 kg | 10.00 | 1.90 | 2.72 | 1.69 |
| Eggplant, organic | UAE | 1 kg | 10.40 | 1.98 | 2.83 | 1.75 |
| Garlic | China | 1 kg | 4.00 | 0.76 | 1.09 | 0.67 |
| Herbs (mint, green leaves, etc.) | 1 bunch | 1.00 | 0.19 | 0.27 | 0.17 | |
| Lemon | South Africa | 1 kg | 4.50 | 0.86 | 1.23 | 0.76 |
| Lettuce | Jordan | 1 kg | 4.50 | 0.86 | 1.23 | 0.76 |
| Lettuce | Netherlands | 1 kg | 12.00 | 2.28 | 3.27 | 2.02 |
| Mushroom | 250g pack | 5.90 | 1.12 | 1.61 | 1.00 | |
| Onion, brown | Spain | 1 kg | 4.00 | 0.76 | 1.09 | 0.67 |
| Potato | Saudi Arabia | 1 kg | 3.50 | 0.67 | 0.95 | 0.59 |
| Spinach | 1kg | 65.00 | 12.37 | 17.71 | 10.97 | |
| Tomato | Netherlands | 1 kg | 19.50 | 3.71 | 5.31 | 3.29 |
| Zucchini, organic | UAE | 1 kg | 13.00 | 2.47 | 3.54 | 2.19 |
Fruit
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple, Fuji | China | 1 kg | 6.75 | 1.28 | 1.84 | 1.14 |
| Apple, Golden | France | 1 kg | 5.45 | 1.04 | 1.48 | 0.92 |
| Apple, Golden | South Africa | 1 kg | 3.80 | 0.72 | 1.04 | 0.64 |
| Apple, Red | Chili | 1 kg | 3.60 | 0.69 | 0.98 | 0.61 |
| Apple, Red | USA | 1 kg | 6.90 | 1.31 | 1.88 | 1.16 |
| Banana | Filippines | 1 kg | 4.75 | 0.90 | 1.29 | 0.80 |
| Grape, Black | Turkey | 1 kg | 6.00 | 1.14 | 1.63 | 1.01 |
| Grape, Black | USA | 1 kg | 9.10 | 1.73 | 2.48 | 1.54 |
| Grape, Red | Spain | 1 kg | 7.00 | 1.33 | 1.91 | 1.18 |
| Grape, White | USA | 1 kg | 12.25 | 2.33 | 3.34 | 2.07 |
| Kiwi | New Zealand | 1 kg | 11.00 | 2.09 | 3.00 | 1.86 |
| Lime, seedless | 1 kg | 16.50 | 3.14 | 4.49 | 2.78 | |
| Mandarine | Australia | 1 kg | 8.25 | 1.57 | 2.25 | 1.39 |
| Nectarine | Italy | 1 kg | 8.45 | 1.61 | 2.30 | 1.43 |
| Orange | South Africa | 1 kg | 3.65 | 0.69 | 0.99 | 0.62 |
| Peaches | Tunisia | 1 kg | 12.60 | 2.40 | 3.43 | 2.13 |
| Pineapple, cut | Filippines | 1 pc | 8.75 | 1.67 | 2.38 | 1.48 |
| Plums (USA) | 1 kg | 13.00 | 2.47 | 3.54 | 2.19 | |
| Watermelon, seedless | 1 kg | 6.95 | 1.32 | 1.89 | 1.17 |
Non-alcoholic drinks & milk
This is a basic selection of non-alcoholic drinks sold in UAE. Alcoholic drinks will be covered in a separate article.
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cola, Sprite, Schweppes, etc. | Coca-cola, Pepsi Co. | 0.33l can | 1.00 | 0.19 | 0.27 | 0.17 |
| Fresh juice, orange | UAE | 1.5l | 18.50 | 3.52 | 5.04 | 3.12 |
| Fresh juice, pineapple | UAE | 1l bottle | 11.90 | 2.26 | 3.24 | 2.01 |
| Fresh juice, pomegranade | UAE | 500ml bottle | 12.95 | 2.46 | 3.53 | 2.18 |
| Laban | UAE | 500ml bottle | 2.75 | 0.52 | 0.75 | 0.46 |
| Milk, full cream | UAE | 1l bottle | 5.50 | 1.05 | 1.50 | 0.93 |
| Water, still | UAE | 5l bottle | 2.80 | 0.53 | 0.76 | 0.47 |
Snacks and sweets
There isn’t really much here but still you may want to compare it to your domestic prices.
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn Flakes with Nuts and Honey | Kellogg’s | 375g pack | 13.50 | 2.57 | 3.68 | 2.28 |
| Croissant, cheese | Union Coop bakery | 4 pcs pack | 6.00 | 1.14 | 1.63 | 1.01 |
| Ice-cream | Haagen-Dazs | 1 pc | 9.00 | 1.71 | 2.45 | 1.52 |
| Ice-cream | London Diary | 1 pc | 5.75 | 1.09 | 1.57 | 0.97 |
| Pringles potato chips, original | 1 pack | 8.50 | 1.62 | 2.32 | 1.43 | |
| Twix, Snickers, Bounty, etc. | Mars | 1 pc | 1.70 | 0.32 | 0.46 | 0.29 |
Some household stuff
The things that you need to keep your house clean, remote control running and teeth healthy.
| Name | Producer/Origin | Measure | Price AED | EUR | USD | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bathroom Tissue | Kleenex | 10 pcs pack | 17.95 | 3.42 | 4.89 | 3.03 |
| Batteries, AA | Duracell | 4 batteries pack | 11.95 | 2.27 | 3.26 | 2.02 |
| Cling wrap | 1 pack | 8.60 | 1.64 | 2.34 | 1.45 | |
| Dishwashing liquid, Fairy | Procter & Gamble | 1.5l bottle | 10.00 | 1.90 | 2.72 | 1.69 |
| Hand towel, paper | Kleenex | 1 pack | 5.50 | 1.05 | 1.50 | 0.93 |
| Sandwich bag | 1 pack | 5.50 | 1.05 | 1.50 | 0.93 | |
| Shower Gel | Dove | 11.75 | 2.24 | 3.20 | 1.98 | |
| Sponge cloth | Vileda | 5 pcs pack | 7.50 | 1.43 | 2.04 | 1.27 |
| Tooth paste | Paradontax | 1 pc | 21.95 | 4.18 | 5.98 | 3.70 |
December 30th, 2009
Thanks, beautifully detailed lay out. Very helpful.
Got an idea of what to expect at Dubai. Keep it up.
Phenomenal, outstanding, stupendeous… really appreciate the effort, time and energy that you have spent in updating the site….. it is easily one of the, sorry, the most informative site about the city….. Kudos ,please keep it up. Thanks
As you might have seen I haven’t updated it for a while, and your comment makes me feel guilty
thanks!
Thanx so much for all the information!
If you could tell me the how much the inflation has increased it would be awesome! Peace!
you are answering so many questions. keep this up good site. preparing for a job all going well in al ain but not sure weather to live in Dubai or ab dab and commute.
Very useful information, thanks so much.
I’m speechless! I’ll be in Dubai for a long while next month and you have been extremely information.