The Lulu chain of supermarkets, which last week emerged as the overall winner in the comparison of commodity prices released by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, continues to fare well in the latest list despite strong competition from Carrefour.
Again, a thorough comparison is hard to make as only seven of the surveyed 19 grocery items are available in all supermarkets. However, some conclusions can be drawn by looking at the average prices of the seven items available in each of the stores and at the shops offering the lowest prices on the biggest number of items.
The Lulu Center in Fujairah records the lowest average price at Dh16.43 across the seven items, which include dried onion, Lipton tea, powdered milk, corn oil, washing powder, nappies and shaving cream. It is followed by the Carrefour supermarkets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which have average prices of Dh16.47 and Dh16.51, respectively.
Carrefour Dubai offers the lowest prices on the largest number of items (five) followed by Lulu supermarkets in Dubai and Fujairah.
At the other end of the scale, the Ras Al Khaimah Cooperative Society has the highest prices for eight items - more than any other store surveyed. It also has the second highest item price average of Dh17.08.The highest average of Dh17.13 was registered at the Umm Al Quwain Cooperative Society.
As usual, fresh fish is the item with the biggest variation in prices. A kilogramme of Kannad fish costs only Dh25.90 in the Lulu Centre in Dubai, but Dh44.90 if bought from the Al Ittihad Co-operative Society in the same city.
More than half of the surveyed products can be found at the cheapest prices in Dubai. Shops in the city offer the best deals on 10 items - including red apples, tomatoes, marrows, rice and macaroni. Dubai also has the lowest price average of Dh16.58. It is followed by Abu Dhabi with an average of Dh16.63 and Fujeirah where the average is Dh16.64. The highest average of Dh16.96 was registered in Ras Al Khaimah.
By Vesela Todorova
© Emirates Today 2006
