How much does food cost in Belize?
Christian Burn
There are many different types of markets in Belize. You would generally buy dry goods in one store, your produce from a fruit stand, your meat from the butcher and your bread from the baker. It is kind of “old school.” The produce here is a lot more expensive than it is at home in Toronto, Canada. We also get non-genetically engineered food here. We get locally grown food and we they don’t use heavy pesticides here. We “eat in...
There are many different types of markets in Belize. You would generally buy dry goods in one store, your produce from a fruit stand, your meat from the butcher and your bread from the baker. It is kind of “old school.” The produce here is a lot more expensive than it is at home in Toronto, Canada. We also get non-genetically engineered food here. We get locally grown food and we they don’t use heavy pesticides here. We “eat in season.” Right now we are in the mango season and avocado season.
(Avocado tree in Belize with ripe fruit, pcitured.)
Posted December 2, 2014
Chris Leonard - Paradise Found Belize Real Estate and Development
The cost of food in Belize really depends on what you want to eat. If you are trying to eat like you ate back in the United States, you’re going to pay a little bit more, because you have to go to Mexico (which shares the northern Border of Belize), to the Wal-Mart to purchase things you want. As far as shopping locally, you can get fresh fish at inexpensive prices. I bought a full salmon for US $15. It was fresh and ready to go. In Idaho, it would...
The cost of food in Belize really depends on what you want to eat. If you are trying to eat like you ate back in the United States, you’re going to pay a little bit more, because you have to go to Mexico (which shares the northern Border of Belize), to the Wal-Mart to purchase things you want. As far as shopping locally, you can get fresh fish at inexpensive prices. I bought a full salmon for US $15. It was fresh and ready to go. In Idaho, it would cost $20 or $30.
Belize also has their own variations of comfort food and snack food, like Doritos, because Mexican companies import these. You can still get your bags of chips and sodas. Sodas will cost you 50 cents at the store in Belize. In Idaho, it would cost about $1.50. They have Coca Cola in Belize. They have a monopoly on the market, so you can get Coke, Sprite, and Fanta. I think these items are better here in Belize because they actually make them with real sugar, as opposed to artificial sweeteners.
Posted February 20, 2015
Frank Kehanu
Hi,
The best website to utilize before going abroad, is Numbeo.
It is an accurate and up to date database which includes some basic food pricing so you can get an overall picture on what it cost to live anywhere.
It's driven by travelers and not by profiteers.
Frank
Hi,
The best website to utilize before going abroad, is Numbeo.
It is an accurate and up to date database which includes some basic food pricing so you can get an overall picture on what it cost to live anywhere.
It's driven by travelers and not by profiteers.
Frank
Posted February 21, 2015
Gwido Mar - Grupo Mar Realty Ltd.
In the inland of Belize, there are Chinese grocery stores and expat stores that have detergent, cereal and salad dressings. For example, at the Chinese grocery store, we get meats, canned food, dog food and detergents on a weekly basis. We prefer to shop weekly and not monthly. Our weekly groceries are about US $50 to $75 for two adults and two dogs. In addition, we buy fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s market in San Ignacio, which is inexpensive....
In the inland of Belize, there are Chinese grocery stores and expat stores that have detergent, cereal and salad dressings. For example, at the Chinese grocery store, we get meats, canned food, dog food and detergents on a weekly basis. We prefer to shop weekly and not monthly. Our weekly groceries are about US $50 to $75 for two adults and two dogs. In addition, we buy fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s market in San Ignacio, which is inexpensive. Market day is every Saturday. You’re looking at $10 to $15 a week. We buy meats at the grocery and seafood at the fish market, which is also at the same farmer’s market. There’s lots of fish here. There’s conch, lobster, shrimp, etc. The total bill for everything from the grocery store and farmer’s market / fish market would be anywhere between $60 to $90 a week. We may not buy this much every week, because there might be surplus in the pantry. If you live on the islands, food cost in Belize would be slightly more, about $90 to $100 a week.
Posted February 23, 2015
Shannon Davies - El Rey Hotel / Belize Travel Services
Generally, the cost for food in Belize depends on what food you buy. If you buy locally produced food, then you will get it for far less. For example, we grow bananas here in Belize. In Ambergris Caye, you can buy 5 bananas for US 50 cents, and 8 for 50 cents on the mainland. If you buy apples, on the other hand, which are not grown in Belize, it would cost around 50 cents for one small apple.
Oranges, bananas, sugar,...
Generally, the cost for food in Belize depends on what food you buy. If you buy locally produced food, then you will get it for far less. For example, we grow bananas here in Belize. In Ambergris Caye, you can buy 5 bananas for US 50 cents, and 8 for 50 cents on the mainland. If you buy apples, on the other hand, which are not grown in Belize, it would cost around 50 cents for one small apple.
Oranges, bananas, sugar, plantains, potatoes, and carrots- to name few- are locally produced in Belize, so you can get them here for less than in the US. We produce our own chicken and our own meats. A dozen eggs cost around $1.75 on the mainland and $2.25 on Ambergris Caye. A medium-sized chicken costs around $6 and a larger chicken is around $8, and chicken cuts would be more depending on the parts.
We have pretty much all the products that you see on US TV commercials, but you would pay more for the US brands here in Belize than you will in the US.
Posted March 22, 2015
Jaseth Bassaragh - The Alpha & Omega Group
The cost of food in Belize depends on what type of food you are going to buy. If you are into healthy eating, Belize is a very good place to get fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices. To give you an example, a bunch of eight fingers of bananas will cost US 50 cents, believe it or not. By contrast, an American apple will cost you 50 cents for one apple. So you want to stick with the local produce such as watermelons, which you can get for 33...
The cost of food in Belize depends on what type of food you are going to buy. If you are into healthy eating, Belize is a very good place to get fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices. To give you an example, a bunch of eight fingers of bananas will cost US 50 cents, believe it or not. By contrast, an American apple will cost you 50 cents for one apple. So you want to stick with the local produce such as watermelons, which you can get for 33 cents Belize a pound (US 16.5 cents). Papayas, cantaloupe, and oranges are great buys, too, at $1 Belize f(US 50 cents) for five to seven oranges.
Vegetables in Belize are also reasonably priced. You could just stock up on your veggies for miniscule amounts of money, in my view.
Whenever you have to import a product, it’s going to cost more. So for example, native fruits and vegetables in Belize that are exported to the US will definitely cost more if you buy it in the US than if you were to consume them locally in Belize. The same happens in reverse.
The fruits and vegetables that you can buy locally in Belize are the following: bananas, mangoes, oranges, grapefruit, cabbage, potatoes, different types of peas, and carrots. We also grow our own broccoli and spinach.
Milk and eggs are also produced in Belize. You could also get goat’s milk or organically raised chickens, which would be cheaper in Belize than in the US.
If you want beef or steak, and you want the same quality or steak as in the US, you will get it for sure because of how they raise the animals here in Belize. You will get healthier meat, too, because the animals graze naturally in Belize.
(Brahman cattle that can withstand the heat of Belize, pictured.)
Posted April 22, 2015
Karen Wilkinson
As a general rule, things here in Belize are much less expensive than in the US. Chicken is very inexpensive. Rice and beans are also very inexpensive. As you branch off into things like beef, there is a tendency to cost more. The quality of the beef here Belize, generally speaking, is not what the US palate has grown up with, which are from corn-fed cows. However, based on my 8 years in Belize, we adapt to different...As a general rule, things here in Belize are much less expensive than in the US. Chicken is very inexpensive. Rice and beans are also very inexpensive. As you branch off into things like beef, there is a tendency to cost more. The quality of the beef here Belize, generally speaking, is not what the US palate has grown up with, which are from corn-fed cows. However, based on my 8 years in Belize, we adapt to different cooking methods. Maybe the beef stays in the pot a little longer, but it is certainly very tasty. I’m from Michigan. I was born on the west side of the state, but I have lived most of my adult life in the greater Detroit area. If I were to compare the food cost in Detroit to the food cost in Belize, I can tell you that my food bill here in Belize is a lot less. I just went shopping yesterday and bought a whole load of things for US $200. I think most people living in the US can tell you that by today’s prices $200 cannot buy you a whole lot anymore. Down here in Belize, I came back with chicken and a whole load of fresh vegetables and fruits, US-branded cereals, sugar, coffee, and milk produced locally.
I haven’t been in Detroit in 2 years so this is a guess but I would say probably the cost for the same amount of groceries in Detroit would be twice that much.
(Having a picnic in Corozol, Belize, next to the ocean, pictured.)
Posted May 28, 2015
Howard Oldham - Tropic Real Estate
How much food will cost you in Belize depends on how you want to live. You can live any way you want to in Belize. It's either you go cheap or the other way around. If you want to live cheaply, you have to embrace what's grown and raised locally, as opposed to buying imported items. For example, we have rice, beans, chicken, bananas, etc. locally. Usually, 10 bananas cost around Belize $1 (US 50 cents) and a dozen of eggs...
How much food will cost you in Belize depends on how you want to live. You can live any way you want to in Belize. It's either you go cheap or the other way around. If you want to live cheaply, you have to embrace what's grown and raised locally, as opposed to buying imported items. For example, we have rice, beans, chicken, bananas, etc. locally. Usually, 10 bananas cost around Belize $1 (US 50 cents) and a dozen of eggs cost around Belize $3.50 (US $1.75). You'll never spend more than $15 (US $7.50) in the market for food!
The cost for imported goods is higher because the government of Belize places a high tariff on them. (The taxes on everything else here are extremely low, so one of the main ways the government in Belize is funded is through tariffs on imported items.) So, if you want to live in Belize like you live in another country, where you have imported items like steak, pork chops, ice cream, Lay's potato chips, Dr. Pepper, etc., the food going to be a lot more expensive than otherwise. If you ear more locally produced or raised food, it is very cheap.
(Pictured: Hot Mama's Chicken Grill, Belize.)
Posted June 18, 2015
Kendra Nicholson
Your budget for food in Belize is fairly cheap and of course, depends on the number of people in your household as well. Most people work on a budget, and would spend anywhere from between Belize $100 (US $50) to Belize $200 (US $100) weekly for groceries. That amount is for a family of three or four light eaters and it’s just for basic, as opposed to high-end food. For this amount, you wouldn’t be having any lobsters, filet mignon, or wine. You'd...Your budget for food in Belize is fairly cheap and of course, depends on the number of people in your household as well. Most people work on a budget, and would spend anywhere from between Belize $100 (US $50) to Belize $200 (US $100) weekly for groceries. That amount is for a family of three or four light eaters and it’s just for basic, as opposed to high-end food. For this amount, you wouldn’t be having any lobsters, filet mignon, or wine. You'd be having bread, some basic canned food, rice, and chicken. Compared to the US, I would say that, if you want the same exact food from the same brands as in the US, the food in Belize would cost more because most of these items would be imported, which adds cost for duty, handling, and transportation. I would say that if there's a foreigner who wants to come and live and eat the same things he ate in his home country, he could get them, but it would be maybe double the cost of eating the local foods.
The local food that you would get a good price on would include the local meats. No filet mignon though; just regular pork or beef. We also eat a lot of chicken. Vegetables and fruits are not as expensive as in the United States and there's bread here in Belize, but no special bread or pastries.
To give you an idea on the prices of basic commodities:
- a dozen eggs would be about BZ $3.50 (US $1.75);
- a basic loaf of bread is BZ $1.75 (about US 87 cents);
- a half a gallon of milk is BZ $4.50 (US $2.50);
- beer is BZ $2.50 (US $1.25);
- bananas would be 8 for BZ $1 (US 50 cents) in the city and about 10 for BZ $1 in Placencia;
- frozen whole chicken starts at BZ $8 (US $4) for the smaller ones and could cost up to BZ $15 (US $7.50) for the large ones;
- rice and flour, the main staples, are at BZ $1 (US 50 cents) and BZ 60 cents (US 30 cents) per pound respectively.
(Typical meal in Belize, pictured.)
Posted August 4, 2015