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Price Index
If you are coming to Singapore and already have a contract, or are discussing one, the ‘cost of living’ or ‘price index’ is probably a good indicator you should keep in mind when you are negotiating your salary. The Price Index is the ratio between the ‘costs’ in home country currency of a basket of goods and services between the home country and, in this case, Singapore. A value of 110 meaning that that basket will cost 10% more in the new place (a little more on that in the financial > expat section).

These baskets are established and compared by specialized companies and can include anything from a carton of milk to an insurance. Generally, they are useful indicators for your negotiation, but the number does not actually tell you how much that carton of milk costs ofcourse, and that’s where we come in. The list below includes some common household goods and their price in Singapore Dollars, on the date indicated, at a regular supermarket somewhere in Singapore (more on supermarkets here). Since most goods are imported, price ranges can be wide. We are not bargain hunting here, nor are we taking the top-of-the-line, these are normal prices. Please note that in Singapore, all taxes are included in the prices shown.

Your Daily Bread - 19 March 2005
Item Price in S$ Remarks
Apples, Granny Smith / pc 0.55
Bananas, 100 gr 0.15 Phillipines
Beer, 1 can 0.3 l 2.75 Tiger (Singaporean)
Bread, 1 loaf wholemeal 420 gr 2.00 Gardenia
Butter, 250 gr 2.55 CSC (Australia)
Carrots 0.5 kg 1.15 Australia
Cereal, 150 gr 3.25 Nestle Honey Stars
Cornflakes 150 gr 2.05 Kellogs
Cheese, Processed 12 slice 3.45 Kraft
Cheese, 100 gr Edam young 1.99
Coffee, ground 200 gram 6.85 Espresso grind
Eggs, 10 pc 2.05 corn
Fish, Salmon filet / kg 19.90
Jam, strawberry 340 gr 5.80 Waitrose
Mango each 4.95 Australia
Margarine, 500 gr 3.90 MeadowLea
Milk, 1 liter fresh 2.70 Brownes (Australia)
Olive Oil, 0.5 l 7.95 Bertolli
Orange Juice, 1 liter 1.78 MariGold
Peanut Butter, 510 gr 4.30 Planters
Potatoes, 2.27 kg 2.98 USA
Rice, fragrant Thai 5 kg 6.00 bigger bags cheaper
Salad, iceberg / pc 1.65
Steak, topside / kg 26.90 Australian
Tomatoes 100 gr 0.28 Malaysian
Water, 1.5 l 0.97 Polar
Keep it Clean - 18 September 2004
Dishwashing detergent 50 tablets 11.00 Somat
Laundry detergent 3 kg 8.75 Persil

Further Reading

Taxes

Banking

Currencies

Credit Cards

Price Index

Asset Management

General - cost of living

Singapore - cost of living

Related Links

Singapore Department of Statistics

SICC - publication on Expatriate living costs in Singapore

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