The comparisons of commodities price list issued by the Ministry of Economy provides a safe bet to those shopping on a budget, with Sharjah's Carrefour picked as the cheapest supermarket this week.
The list, issued on a weekly basis, allows for little conclusive analysis as the items compared change every week.
Also, the incomplete data - with many prices on certain items missing from shops - makes it impossible to decide an overall winner.
Dividing total item prices by the number of items can provide an average item cost that shoppers may find useful in deciding which market is the best bet for shoppers. The supermarkets which provide goods at lowest cost are: Fujairah's Al Manamah Hypermarket, Ras Al Khaimah's Carrefour, Umm Al Quwain's Lulu Centre, Ajman's Carrefour, Sharjah's Carrefour, Dubai's Union Cooperative Society and Abu Dhabi's the Emirates General Market.
The supermarkets with the most 'best buys' were Carrefour in Ajman, Carrefour in Sharjah, Union Co-operative Society in Dubai and Carrefour in Abu Dhabi. The lowest average item cost in all the supermarkets polled was seen at Sharjah's Carrefour.
The highest was at the Umm Al Quwain Co-operative Society.
By Zarina Khan
© Emirates Today 2007
