# Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!



## elk123 (14 Jul 2004)

*Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

I am generally spend 15 - 20euro a week on fruit & veg at my local supermarket, would shop somewhere else but their is a severe lack of Fruit & Veg shops in Dublins northside!

Recently I noticed that I am getting 'less bang for my buck' as price of grapes, strawberries, plums and kiwis, to mention just a few seem to be really expensive now, for what I would term 'very average quality'!

As for vegetables, don't get me started... I paid 86c for one parnsip in Tesco's the other day, YES, thats a whole 86c for one lousy parnsip! Must be the supermarkets most profitable dept!

I am so amazed at this stage, Iam thinking of renting a unit in my local shopping centre to start my own fruit & veg shop!

Anyone else know my plight, or come up with cheaper alternatives!

Thnxs,
elk


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## Guest (14 Jul 2004)

*Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

Is this topic of any use?



In what part of the Northside are you located? I know that there are far better value alternatives to the supermarkets in D7 (e.g. New Cabra Road and Faussaugh Avenue) and D1 (in and around the Corpo fruit and veg market) anyway.


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## elk123 (14 Jul 2004)

I am in the Santry area and previously lived in Artane which also doesn't have a fruit & veg shop nearby!

I really think their is isn't much differnece between the main supermarkets, however, I haven't yet tried the German discounters which I will possibly do this weekend.

Whats Moore st like price wise, do you happen to know ?


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## Guest (14 Jul 2004)

> I haven't yet tried the German discounters which I will possibly do this weekend.

In my experience they are cheaper but (like most supermarkets) quality varies.

> Whats Moore st like price wise, do you happen to know ?

Haven't shopped there in years but was considering trying them again recently. I was in Tescos at the weekend and was gobsmacked at the price of some of the fruit & veg.


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## Cassidy (14 Jul 2004)

*RE: PRICE OF FRUIT AND VEG*

Have you tried the Beaumont center on the Beaumont Road. They sell fruit and veg at very reasonable prices. They also sell fish, meat, and bread ,they also have a hot deli section. 
If you were an earlier riser, you could always head in Smithfield.


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## Guest (14 Jul 2004)

*RE: PRICE OF FRUIT AND VEG*

> If you were an earlier riser, you could always head in Smithfield

Smithfield fruit & veg market is long gone and is a massive building site now. Like a lot of people you're probably mistakenly referring to the Dublin City Council fruit & veg market in nearby St. Michan's Street (between Church Street and Capel Street) as Smithfield - which lies further west and is bounded by North King Street, Queen Street, Arran Quay and Bow Street (if I'm not mistaken!).


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## FruitnNut (14 Jul 2004)

*.*

"I haven't yet tried the German discounters which I will possibly do this weekend."

Of late Dunnes are as cheap as Lidl for fruit & veg

If you are prepared for a hike then there is quite a good fruit & veg / garden centre opposite the Teagasc place on the Malahide Road

Cassidy, whats the form with the fruit market these days ( pay & display from 5 am I suppose ). I had the idea that it had been closed down - or it that the fish market ?


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## Guest (14 Jul 2004)

*.*

> I had the idea that it had been closed down - or it that the fish market ?

I think that the fish market (separate warehouse from the fruit & veg place) was closed a while back due to the state of the building. Not sure if it's reopened or relocated in the meantime. 

By the way this page has a map which clarifies the relative locations of Smithfield and the DCC markets  

[broken link removed]


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## elk123 (14 Jul 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi FruitnNut,

Afraid I don't know the Teagasc office on the Malahide Rd.
Would it be the one up by Kinsealy instead ?

elk


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## Maceface (15 Jul 2004)

*Re: .*

I think Dunnes are the cheapest you will probably get. When you shop in places like the discount supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl) or Moore Street, the quality is not as good.
The difference between the major supermarkets and the others is that the produce has been zapped with tons of chemicals and wax to make them lovely looking as well as lasting a lot longer than anything you would get in Moore Street.
So, I suppose it is really a trade off - do you want something more natural which will start rotting in a short amount of time, or do you want something that will last a bit longer, not be as healthy, and a bit more expensive.

You won't get much cheaper than Dunnes as they got the farmers by the preverbials. They demand great discounts from the Co-Ops and if they don't get it, they move on somewhere else. That is one of the reasons why farmers are going broke.
A simple example of this is to examine the prices of the roadside Wexford strawberries to the ones in Dunnes. Dunnes wins hands down.

Just wondering as well if the price differences is anything to do with the time of year, or the weather over the last few weeks?


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## Tommy (15 Jul 2004)

*Re: .*



> Of late Dunnes are as cheap as Lidl for fruit & veg





> You won't get much cheaper than Dunnes



This certainly isn't the case in my neck of the woods. Dunnes are very expensive for fruit. Lidl do offer much better value.



> the produce has been zapped with tons of chemicals and wax to make them lovely looking as well as lasting a lot longer


This might explain why I find it difficult to eat the grapes and apples I buy in Dunnes or Tesco. They don't taste natural at all.



> When you shop in places like the discount supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl) or Moore Street, the quality is not as good.


On a recent visit to Moore Street, I thought the quality offered was abysmal even if the stuff was priced very cheaply. I find the quality of fruit in lidl to be extremely high - Aldi less so.


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## XXXAnother PersonXXX (15 Jul 2004)

*.*



> You won't get much cheaper than Dunnes as they got the farmers by the preverbials.



Do they pass this saving on, or just add it to their margin?

I've started going to the local greengrocers and not only find the quality far superior, but they are also much less expensive than all the major supermarkets.


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## FruitnNut (15 Jul 2004)

*Would it be the one up by Kinsealy instead ?*

Yes Elk

Thats the one


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## ainec (15 Jul 2004)

*Fruit & Veg shops on Northside*

I can highly recommend Tops in Pops on Gardiner Street Upr & Dorset Street. Great quality & really cheap.


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## SlurrySlump (15 Jul 2004)

*Use on the day and its OK.*

Everyday the local Spar supermarket that I shop in heavily discounts those vegetables that are fast approaching their sell by date. This also happens in Tesco and Dunnes. I have often purchased these and they have been fine. Someone will probably tell me that because they are not fresh they have lost a lot of their nutritional value, but can this be proved?

I got a large yellow melon for €1 euro yesterday. 3 heads of Chicory 70c and a kilo bag of those mini potatoes 60c. I have already eaten most of them. 

Every other day it's like a lucky dip as to what will be available.


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## heinbloed (16 Jul 2004)

*Quality*

The sale of waxed fruits and vegetables other than citrus fruits is illegal in the EU.Despite that sometimes a batch of apples from the US arrives at the market,but controls are lax here in Ireland and most traders don't even know the regulations.


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## Guest (16 Jul 2004)

*Quality*

>  Have you tried the Beaumont center on the Beaumont Road.

Cassidy - is that the "Beaumont Drive In Centre"? I saw a van with that name passing by this morning on my way to work and it seems to be a fruit and veg etc. place of some sort.


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## Mind Boggled (16 Jul 2004)

*Tops n Pops*

I too can highly recommend Tops n Pops at the top of Gardiner Street - corner Summerhill Parade going on to Parnell Street.


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## shnaek (16 Jul 2004)

*Re: Quality*

A local fruit and veg seller in Tullamore who has had a shop here for years and who has his own farm and sources fruit and veg locally as much as he can is going to close this month.
I was asking him why.
He says he just can't compete with the supermarkets.
I said 'But your prices are cheaper than the supermarkets!'
To which he replied that he knew that, but he couldn't complete with the convenience of buying all your groceries in one place.
Convenience or laziness. Take your pick. But it just goes to show that people complain about prices all the time but the won't walk that extra 100yards up the road to buy both cheaper and local - and support local farmers and business.


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## rainyday (16 Jul 2004)

*Re: Quality*

My experience in south Dublin was that our local F&V shop was a bit more expensive than the supermarkets with no noticable difference in quality.


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## Cassidy (16 Jul 2004)

*fruit & veg*

Yes, the Beaumont centre and the "Beaumont drive in centre" is the same place.

I think the place is great, not just for the fruit & veg but also for fresh fish and the hot deli section.

I would recommend that you go in the morning time especially on a Saturday as it can get very busy and you will have a better choice.


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## punter2005 (16 Jul 2004)

*re: Convenience or laziness.*

Hi Schnaek,

A very good point!

I live in Douglas, Cork and there are two Fruit&Veg stores within metres of our local Tesco. Even though prices are considerably cheaper at these two Fruit&Veg stores, most people seem to buy their fruit and veg in Tesco! And then these same people whinge about prices in Ireland and how much cheaper things are abroad!!!

punter2005


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## Guest (18 Jul 2004)

*re: Convenience or laziness.*

Just wandering around town this aternoon and another couple of places that might be worth checking for fruit & veg are the stalls in Camden Street and Thomas Street. Seemed like some good fare reasonably priced in the latter anyway.


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## Observer (22 Jul 2004)

*Re: re: Convenience or laziness.*

Northside, there's a fruit-n-veg place in blanchardstown about 500 yds beyond Superquinn on the right going out towards the Blanch centre.  Not super cheap but good stuff.  Also i find Lidl very good - much cheaper than dunnes/tesco and impeccably clean.


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## Guest (22 Jul 2004)

*Re: re: Convenience or laziness.*

> here's a fruit-n-veg place in blanchardstown about 500 yds beyond Superquinn on the right going out towards the Blanch centre.

Justin's?


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## liz1246 (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

Hi
I totally understand where you are coming from
I used to buy all my stuff from Mr. Quinn for the Quality
then the Germans because of the prices 
( we would often spend about Eur30 - 50 a week)
I was fed up not able to get the quality without having to leave my pay cheque at the door!
Anyway to make a long story painful 
I had to give up work for personal reasons 
but still needed to bring in some money 
so I started up doing a Fruit & veg. delivery service in the Dublin 24/16/12/6w areas
People Email me or phone me by a Wednesday night 
and i go to market on a Thursday
Deliver that afternoon or Friday morning so it's at its freshest.
So far so good mainly word of mouth recommendations.
Everybody has commented on the quality, compared to what they normally had to pay for, and the savings.
Looks like you need something on the Northside too!!


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## MandaC (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

I also find it very hard to get decent quality fruit and veg.  Even Superquinn lately seems to not have great quality. 

I have taken to going to the organic food market in Temple Bar on Saturday mornings.  Quality is very good, but mega prices.


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## europhile (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

Or the Dublin Food Co-Op in the Resource Centre in Pearse Street.

[broken link removed]


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## woods (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Price of fruit & Veg in supermarkets!!*

I grow my own greens in boxes in my bay windows and it reduces the bill a little.
I grow Lettuce, spinach, kale, basil and sprout lots of fresh greens.
It means that you know that there are no additives and because you pick it just before you eat it you get more nutrients.
It is easy and it helps.


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