Antony’s Personal Opinion

How much is the price of 1 liter box of 100% pure orange juice? Why am I asking this question? When I first came to Vancouver, Canada, I was very surprise because everything is so expensive here. Worse, if you buy something, the listed price does not include taxes yet. They have GST (Good and Services Tax) and PST (Provincial Sales Tax) here. In total, we have to pay additional 14% of the listed price!!! Fortunately, we don’t need to pay PST for some products, like some food products.

One the products that made me quite surprise when I first came here was orange juice. I like drinking 100% pure orange juice (and also apple juice). When I went to the supermarket, I just can’t believe looking at the price. It is fantastically expensive. Just for comparison, I would like to compare the price of 1 liter box of 100% pure orange juice in three different countries, i.e. Germany, Singapore and Canada. Why these three countries? It is simply because I have lived in those countries in the last five years. I know this is not a fair comparison because the juice makers are different; thus the quality of each product may be different too.

• Country: Germany (Stuttgart, Bochum)
  Brand: Rio Doro
  Supermarket: Aldi
  Price: EUR 0.49 (tax included)
  Price in US$: $0.41

• Country: Singapore
  Brand: Ceres
  Supermarket: Fair Price
  Price: S$ 1.65 (tax included)
  Price in US$: $1.02

• Country: Canada (Vancouver)
  Brand: Sunrype
  Supermarket: SaveOnFoods
  Price: C$ 1.99 (tax excluded)
  Price in US$: $1.71

As you can see here, the price of orange juice in Canada is about twice more expensive than Singapore. Note that the price in Canada does not include tax yet!

Some of you from Canada may argue that SaveOnFoods is one of expensive supermarkets in Canada. I can give another example. When I bought the same orange juice from Costco, 12 x 1 liter of orange juice costs C$15.99 (excluding tax). It means 1 liter of orange juice costs C$15.99 / 12 = C$1.33 = US$ 1.14. It is more expensive than Singapore! Just for your information, we cannot buy 1 liter orange juice in Costco. We have to buy 12 liters (= 12 x 1 liter) because they always sell products in large quantities.

As I said, the comparison of orange juice may not be so far. Let’s take a look at another product, i.e. a chocolate bar. I use one of my favorite chocolate, Ritter Sport. How much is the price of 1 Ritter Sport chocolate in each country?

• Country: Germany (Stuttgart, Bochum)
  Supermarket: Lidl
  Price: EUR 0.85 (tax included)
  Price in US$: $0.71

• Country: Singapore
  Supermarket: Fair Price
  Price: S$ 2.70 (tax included)
  Price in US$: $1.67

• Country: Canada (Vancouver)
  Supermarket: SaveOnFoods
  Price: C$ 2.19 (tax excluded)
  Price in US$: $1.88

Once again, this may not be a fair comparison because Ritter Sport is a German chocolate. The price is, of course, much cheaper in Germany. However, if we compare the price between Singapore and Canada, then Canada is still more expensive (even when tax is excluded).

Note: I have a comparison of living cost between these three countries too.

One of the questions that may pop up in our mind when we relocate to a new place is “how much is the living cost?” Before moving to Vancouver, Canada, I have done a small research too. However, after arriving here, I was very surprise. The living cost is higher than what I expected. I would like to share my monthly living cost in Vancouver, Canada.

• Apartment rental: C$ 975
• Food and groceries: C$ 300
• Public transportation: C$ 70
• Telephone: C$ 50
• Television and Internet: C$ 85
• Entertainment: C$ 50
• Clothing: C$ 50
• Others: C$ 50

If you sum up all of the costs above, you will get the total of C$ 1630. What do you think? Is it quite normal for one person living in one-bed room? Starting from this month, my living cost will be higher because I have a wife now. It would be even higher when I have applied for mortgage and have bought a car already.

Just to let you know, I have a simple lifestyle. I don’t have a car because I don’t have a driving license yet. I rarely eat in the restaurant; most of the time I cook myself. I don’t really like shopping; usually I buy new clothes when I really need them.

Ok, now let’s do some comparisons. I have lived in Germany for a couple of years too and here is my monthly living cost there:

• Apartment rental (including television): EUR 300
• Food and groceries: EUR 250
• Public transportation: EUR 45
• Telephone: EUR 50
• Internet: EUR 30
• Entertainment: EUR 40
• Clothing: EUR 50
• Others: EUR 50

The total is EUR 815 or about C$ 1140. May be it is not that fair to compare this with Vancouver because I lived in a studio while in Germany and now I live in a one-bed room apartment.

Next, I will try to compare with the living in cost in Singapore. I have lived in Singapore for quite some too and here is my monthly living cost there:

• Apartment rental (including television): S$ 900
• Food and groceries: S$ 350
• Public transportation: S$ 75
• Telephone: $S 50
• Internet: $S 60
• Entertainment: S$ 50
• Clothing: S$ 50
• Others: S$ 50

The total is S$ 1585 or about C$ 1135. May be it is not too fair either to compare this with Vancouver because I lived in HDB while in Singapore. What is HDB? HDB, shorts for House Development Board, is a government subsidized apartment. It is cheaper than private apartment, but the condition is usually not that nice.

What makes my living cost in Canada so much higher? Mostly, it is because my apartment rental is very expensive. However, even if I rent a cheaper apartment (let’s say $700/month), the cost is still quite high.

The cost above does not include yearly trip to my home country, Indonesia. Once a year, I go back to my home country to visit my family. If I include the flight ticket, then the cost in Canada is even much higher. Here is the comparison of flight tickets between Germany, Singapore and Canada to Indonesia:

• Germany - Indonesia: EUR 750 ~ C$ 1050
• Singapore - Indonesia: S$ 500 ~ C$ 360
• Canada - Indonesia: C$ 1500

Today I bought a 1-liter box of orange juice in a big supermarket. When I buy a food product, usually I check the expired date. I don’t what was wrong with me this morning. I didn’t check the expired date of my orange juice. Guess what…. when I arrived at home and check the date, it is written “05-Sep-05″. So the product has been expired for more than 4 months already. Unbelievable…. isn’t it?

Can you imagine that? A very big supermarket in Canada sells expired products. What would happen if the person who bought it didn’t check the expired date?

Anyway, since my first day in Canada, I have been a little bit frustrated with “expired date”. I have visited many supermarkets in Vancouver, Canada, and I have seen many food products that don’t have expired date. Yeah, I am not kidding…. Sometimes, I have to spend a couple of minutes, looking for “Best before…” sign. In some cases, I simply couldn’t find the expired date. There are two possibilities when I am stuck in this situation: 1) trust the supermarket that they won’t sell expired products; or 2) don’t buy the product.

The following picture shows a food product that don’t have expired date. It is a pork luncheon meat sold at a supermarket in Vancouver, Canada. Can you help me finding the expired date?

I am very interested to know, what the policy of Canadian government regarding of “expired date” is. Do they require all food products to have expired date? I don’t believe if a country like Canada doesn’t require expired date on every food products.

Update (30-Jan-06): Yesterday, I would like to buy a cough medicine (I’ve been having cough since three days ago). Guess what… I went to a big pharmacy and they sold expired cough medicine (the expiry date was 2005). Interesting, huh? Even a big pharmacy sell expired medicine. What happen if the buyer don’t check the date? I am not going to publish the name of the pharmacy, but they are one of the big players in Vancouver, Canada.