Sydneysiders pay least for groceries: ABS

By Stuart Fagg, ninemsn Money

It may surprise some residents of the Emerald City, but Sydney has the nation’s cheapest groceries, according to official figures.

Australia’s most populous city has the cheapest average price for a case of beer ($39.25), a rump steak ($19.35 per kilo), rice ($2.47 per kilo) and potatoes ($1.45 per kilo).

Based on the combined cost of retail goods including dairy products, meat, fresh fruit and alcohol, Sydneysiders pay the least for their groceries, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which released data on the average price of retail goods for the September quarter yesterday.

Canberra, which boasts the nation’s cheapest chocolate, is Australia’s second cheapest capital city, with Brisbane coming third.

Tea drinkers and cereal fans in the Queensland capital enjoy the nation’s cheapest milk.

Not surprisingly, given their city’s geographical isolation, Darwinites pay the most for groceries.

A slab of beer will cost you $6 more in the NT capital than in Sydney but if light beer is your tipple, it’s the place to be: at $2.72 a low alcohol beer in a pub is costs just 1 cent more than in Sydney and nearly a dollar less than in Adelaide.

If you like to keep clean though, Darwin isn’t for you –a bar of soap will cost close to a dollar more than in Sydney.

Melbourne was the fourth cheapest city for groceries, followed by Adelaide and Hobart.

Perth, meanwhile, was the second most expensive city with Australia’s most-expensive butter and chuck steak.

On the flipside, the WA capital does have the nation’s cheapest petrol at $1.22 per litre, according to the ABS.