Surabaya - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
The prices of staples like rice, eggs, and cooking oil are regulated by the government and are very inexpensive. The price of fruits and vegetables runs the gamut from very inexpensive (at local wet markets) to prices comparable to what you would find in the United States in higher-end supermarkets. Beef is very expensive and generally frozen. Most international supermarkets carry inexpensive pork products but selection is very limited and quality is less than you would find in the United States. Fresh seafood is excellent and inexpensive. Alcohol is heavily taxed, not for sale during Ramadan, and with the exception of the local beer (a Heineken clone), very difficult to find. - Nov 2018
It ranges from inexpensive to very expensive and is of lower quality; locally grown is cheap, but farming practices should give anyone pause in buying anything too local. There are some organic farms that supply the hotels and once you get a contact, they can deliver basic leafy greens. Higher quality produce is fairly expensive; about the prices you'd pay at a Whole Foods or gourmet market in a U.S. city. - Oct 2015
Local products are pretty cheap. Local produce and meat is about 20-30% cheaper than their counterparts in the U.S. Imported goods are expensive and vary in availability. You can east like an Asian or like a Westerner as you please. If you're USG, supplementing the local inventory with Commissary and Amazon shipments makes it much easier to appease a Western palate or picky kids. A word of caution: like many developing countries, be prepared to go to more than one market to complete a simple shopping trip. A new Ranch Market opened up near Citraland and it has made shopping easier, but be prepared for that common ingredient to be "sudah habis" (already sold out). - Apr 2015
ery inexpensive as Indonesia produces many products locally. - Oct 2012
They are very inexpensive as Indonesia produces many products locally. - Oct 2012
It all depends on where you go. If you shop at Papaya, be prepared to spend money. If you go to the wet markets then you will save money. - May 2012
Everything can be found with a little searching, but anything imported will be at least double the price that you would pay in the States. Buy your wine and hard liquor from the Embassy, as imported liquor is outrageously expensive. Beer is more reasonable, as it is domestically produced. - Oct 2010
Groceries are available and cheap. Even American brand products like Oreos are half what they cost in the U.S.Fruit is really cheap, but good meat can be more of an issue. Available at more upscale markets, but maybe a little more than you would pay in the States. No problem obtaining typical toiletries. - Aug 2009
