<We rarely pay more than $4/lb and never more than $5, for good cuts of beef (ribeye, T-bone, Porterhouse, New York steaks). >
CB, US$4 per pound = NZ$20 per kilogram [at current exchange rates]. $5/lb is NZ$25/kg.
At the expensive Woolworths site, woolworths.co.nz
if you click through to the steak photos and prices you will see:
Eye fillet $26
Scotch fillet $19
t-bone $16
Porterhouse $20.70
Rump $16.50
Cross cut blade $14.50
As I say, those are the top prices. Rump at $10 is 50% cheaper.
Prices really are a joke here [to Americans]. Also to Japanese. The rule of thumb is that US$1 = NZ$1 = 1 pound, when spending it in the local US, Kiwi or Pommy village. So, life is pretty good here, but not if we take our pathetic bit of money to Japan, USA or Britain and try to buy something with it.
When I go hunting in USA supermarkets, I get sticker shock. Bread is one that surprises me most because I think of the USA as the wheat growing capital of the world, doing it cheaper than any on earth, thousands of hectares mowed by rows of combine harvesters. I suppose the labour costs between the farm and the supermarket shelf make it end up expensive. Paying the delivery driver US$10 an hour is a lot more than our drivers at NZ$10 an hour.
Fruit and vegetables are also expensive.
But I go to Trader Joes and buy bulk on vitamins which are super cheap compared with here. Electronics are super cheap in Akihabara in Tokyo [it's pitiful buying things like that here - we get the old stuff at twice the price]. We buy the old cars they have thrown away and pay NZ$7000 for them.
Globalstar phones cost an annual salary here [without actually using them] - only a slight exaggeration.
Mq |
