Purchase of Provisions: Best & Worst Countries

[Drek4]

Well I was wondering if those that have the knowledge would be kind enough to share their experiences about where are the best places to stock up and the worst places to stock up, so that us noobs can have a good idea about how to plan our journeys, either the Med, Caribbean, Oceania, Asia, Europe, etc.

Diesel, propane, fresh fruit & vegetables, canned & packaged food, fresh meat, fresh fish, water, hardware, tools, etc.

Of course lately every thing has been just a haphazard and insane event, so if you do post prices of 2022 please unerline this, but eventually everything will come back to a new normal, hopefully.

[goboatingnow]

Big ask. These days provisioning is not the difficult task it once was shops and small supermarkets abound etc.

[HeywoodJ]

The answer to this question depends on how much/willing you (are to) “go native”. Almost by definition western cruisers, even the shoestring budget ones, are wealthy in most of the world. If you go native you generally have plenty of funds to provision. As with anywhere, the smaller the place the harder it is as the amount of “spare” that may be available is limited. Papeete and the main Societies provide a good contrast to some of the Australs or Tuamotus.

If you can’t go native then the picture is different. You’ll be dependent on larger cities and higher costs to fill your larder with Western processed foods. It can be done, just costs more and reduces the number of easy locations. But, those foods are available nearly everywhere there is a city large enough to support a big supermarket.

For the other stuff, diesel is nearly universal. Propane will depend on location, but more because fittings don’t match and some places will refuse to fill a foreign bottle regardless of having an adapter. Hardware and tools takes you back to the “go native” question, but FedEx/DHL reach even the tiny corners of the globe.

You can almost answer this question by looking at the size of the economy. For instance, in the South Pacific Fiji is easily the most developed economy and has the largest stocks of locally produced foods and materials, while the Milk Run countries east of there are largely dependent on imports, with their attendant higher costs. The flip side, while there are lots of packaged/preserved foods available in Fiji you have to adopt a Fijian palate if you want to avail yourself of their ready availability.

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Drek,

There are a number of ways to look at this, and it really depends on where you're going and how much stowage space you have. And of course, one's tastes change over time too.

If you're going west, through the Pacific you have to provision for the long passage, for us it was Cabo San Lucas to Atuona, in the Marquesas, and approximately 3 weeks passage. For this, at the time we did it, we got our fresh things from the mercado central, and the CCC mercado; plus we arranged for eggs from the chicken farmer. Those eggs lasted with no spoilage, and no refrigeration, still useable in baking at 3 months. They were better, before, of course. I did not smear them with vaseline, but I did turn them weekly. Staples (like flour, sugar, and rice) are pretty universally available. Peanut butter is not very available in the pacific after you have left Mexico, and nor is maple syrup. I carried maple flavoring and made our own, not nearly as good as Canadian (which is available in Australia), but it worked okay. We used canned Danish bacon and butter. Canned fish and corned beef are regularly available, and I was fortunate to find a very acceptable recipe for using the corned beef. We mainly used canned chicken meat or beef, and then made things out of it. You will experiment. When we were there, rum was a real bargain in Mexico, and also gin. Not red wine. NB: installing a fan to help ventilate the galley while baking is much appreciated.

Tahiti was the next provisioning place, more expensive than Mexico. One NZ frozen leg of lamb would cool 2 Hinano beers, then we'd BBQ the lamb, with rosemary and garlic, next day, lamb curry. A frozen Arkansas chicken cools only one beer. We really enjoyed the pamplemousse concentrate, and "invented" a drink, Rumplemousse: a tall cool glass of pamplemousse and water, with a shot of Bacardi Gold. See, what happens is that one tries various things along the way, and on a long passage, we found ourselves running out of the little boxed mixes of "bisquik" sorts of breads, and no more tortillas, so I started baking, mainly two loaves at a time, but sometimes, I made English muffins; and we ate a lot of pancakes. We eat a lot of wheat based things, with breads and pastas. You can buy whatever you want in Tahiti, at a price!

If you fish, you will find the fresh fish that you catch to be the best (freshest) you have ever eaten. For us, that led to learning how to pickle fish, so that we could keep it without refrigeration. Lettuce needs refrigeration, cabbage doesn't, so we learned to make a lot of different kinds of cabbage salads. We learned to use powdered milk and make our own yoghurt. It is that once you leave the big box stores of the US behind, everything changes, and so your eating habits change, too.[No more orange blossom honey.] We cruised without refrigeration our first year. I prefer having refrigeration. But we have some lovely, healthy, Canadian friends who cruised without refrigeration, and home canned all their meats. And we've known people who dried their own fish and vegetables. You can really eat well using techniques from early last century.

I would say the place most limited in provisioning that we visited were the Solomon Is., and even there, I was able to buy flour. It was weevily, so I sifted it before use, and I found the weevils really gross--how privileged was that!, but we coped okay. Advice for going to the Louisiades or the Sollies: if you want to eat it or drink it, bring it with you. [And carry packages of store-bought cookies for gifts to people when they do something nice for you.]

You can get everything you need in New Zealand and in Australia. And the Kiwis really understand boats!, and the US dollar vs. the Kiwi dollar is favorable to the holder of the US dollar.

Now, if you want to go east from the US, it will be a totally different story.

Ann
PS. Sorry for rambling on so long.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Big ask. These days provisioning is not the difficult task it once was shops and small supermarkets abound etc.

Yes I do agree, but some places certain produce or required items can be excessive in prices.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

The answer to this question depends on how much/willing you (are to) “go native”. Almost by definition western cruisers, even the shoestring budget ones, are wealthy in most of the world. If you go native you generally have plenty of funds to provision. As with anywhere, the smaller the place the harder it is as the amount of “spare” that may be available is limited. Papeete and the main Societies provide a good contrast to some of the Australs or Tuamotus.

If you can’t go native then the picture is different. You’ll be dependent on larger cities and higher costs to fill your larder with Western processed foods. It can be done, just costs more and reduces the number of easy locations. But, those foods are available nearly everywhere there is a city large enough to support a big supermarket.

For the other stuff, diesel is nearly universal. Propane will depend on location, but more because fittings don’t match and some places will refuse to fill a foreign bottle regardless of having an adapter. Hardware and tools takes you back to the “go native” question, but FedEx/DHL reach even the tiny corners of the globe.

You can almost answer this question by looking at the size of the economy. For instance, in the South Pacific Fiji is easily the most developed economy and has the largest stocks of locally produced foods and materials, while the Milk Run countries east of there are largely dependent on imports, with their attendant higher costs. The flip side, while there are lots of packaged/preserved foods available in Fiji you have to adopt a Fijian palate if you want to avail yourself of their ready availability.

Thank you very much for your informative and detailed reply.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hello, Drek,

There are a number of ways to look at this, and it really depends on where you're going and how much stowage space you have. And of course, one's tastes change over time too.

If you're going west, through the Pacific you have to provision for the long passage, for us it was Cabo San Lucas to Atuona, in the Marquesas, and approximately 3 weeks passage. For this, at the time we did it, we got our fresh things from the mercado central, and the CCC mercado; plus we arranged for eggs from the chicken farmer. Those eggs lasted with no spoilage, and no refrigeration, still useable in baking at 3 months. They were better, before, of course. I did not smear them with vaseline, but I did turn them weekly. Staples (like flour, sugar, and rice) are pretty universally available. Peanut butter is not very available in the pacific after you have left Mexico, and nor is maple syrup. I carried maple flavoring and made our own, not nearly as good as Canadian (which is available in Australia), but it worked okay. We used canned Danish bacon and butter. Canned fish and corned beef are regularly available, and I was fortunate to find a very acceptable recipe for using the corned beef. We mainly used canned chicken meat or beef, and then made things out of it. You will experiment. When we were there, rum was a real bargain in Mexico, and also gin. Not red wine. NB: installing a fan to help ventilate the galley while backing is much appreciated.

Tahiti was the next provisioning place, more expensive than Mexico. One NZ frozen leg of lamb would cool 2 Hinano beers, then we'd BBQ the lamb, with rosemary and garlic, next day, lamb curry. A frozen Arkansas chicken cools only one beer. We really enjoyed the pamplemousse concentrate, and "invented" a drink, Rumplemousse: a tall cool glass of pamplemousse and water, with a shot of Bacardi Gold. See, what happens is that one tries various things along the way, and on a long passage, we found ourselves running out of the little boxed mixes of "bisquik" sorts of breads, and no more tortillas, so I started baking, mainly two loaves at a time, but sometimes, I made English muffins; and we ate a lot of pancakes. We eat a lot of wheat based things, with breads and pastas. You can buy whatever you want in Tahiti, at a price!

If you fish, you will find the fresh fish that you catch to be the best (freshest) you have ever eaten. For us, that led to learning how to pickle fish, so that we could keep it without refrigeration. Lettuce needs refrigeration, cabbage doesn't, so we learned to make a lot of different kinds of cabbage salads. We learned to use powdered milk and make our own yoghurt. It is that once you leave the big box stores of the US behind,
everything changes, and so your eating habits change, too.[No more orange blossom honey.] We cruised without refrigeration our first year. I prefer having refrigeration. But we have some lovely, healthy, Canadian friends who cruised without refrigeration, and home canned all their meats. And we've known people who dried their own fish and vegetables. You can really eat well using techniques from early last century.

I would say the place most limited in provisioning that we visited were the Solomon Is., and even there, I was able to buy flour. It was weevily, so I sifted it before use, and I found the weevils really gross--how privileged was that!, but we coped okay. Advice for going to the Louisiades or the Sollies: if you want to eat it or drink it, bring it with you. [And carry packages of store-bought cookies for gifts to people when they do something nice for you.]

You can get everything you need in New Zealand and in Australia. And the Kiwis really understand boats!, and the US dollar vs. the Kiwi dollar is favorable to the holder of the US dollar.

Now, if you want to go east from the US, it will be a totally different story.

Ann
PS. Sorry for rambling on so long.

Thank you so very much for such a wonderful and detailed reply to my query.
All this information is priceless and so very much appreciated, I am in your debt.

[Fore and Aft]

Drek4 we were in Fiji just before Covid and I was surprised at how high the supermarket prices were for a third world country. It wasn't expensive but considering how low the wages are I thought it would be more affordable.
One thing we find expensive in Australia is good maple syrup, we paid $9 for a 250ml bottle yesterday. Unfortunately we acquired a taste for the good stuff while living in Canada and the cheap syrup just does not cut it.

Cheers
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/p...b676a2fb55ca8d

[CatNewBee]

Well we have a small amount of countries on our list yet.

Europe generally excellent for provisioning, huge supermarkets and often local farmers markets for anything all year long, fuel expensive, industrial goods affordable, you can buy anything everywhere online and get it shipped easily. Tabak expensive, alcohol often too. Marine parts and services easy to obtain and generally of a similar price with some small discounts, costs for marinas, haul outs and docking sometimes ridiculous expensive during the season.

Gibraltar, fuel and alcohol cheap, chandler, parts, electronics comparable to high tax countries, not worth the hassle.

Canaries less VAT, door to the Atlantic, all services available, parts were ordered from main land via express, fuel cheaper than continental Europe, medicaments and medical kits can be easily purchased for the onboard pharmacy - often without prescription and with a good consultation / explanation - in contrast to Germany and other countries. Huge well sorted supermarkets that deliver to the dock.

Saint Martin / Sint Maarten - excellent for provisioning, parts and repairs, big chandlers mainly on the dutch side, big supermarket chains with anything you may want, alcohol cheap (less taxes), fuel cheap, everything imported in the stores, local farmers market very limited, big cash and carry markets with us brands on the dutch side. Business Point has a Florida Address for Amazon shipments once per week, fright forwarder can ship stuff from EU and China for a good price. Pharmacies well stocked.

Dominican Republic - provisioning OK, variery in the supermarkets is very limited to the basics except in the capital. Chandleries not existent, services limited to some hotspots. Fuel prices ok, alcohol expensive, fresh local fruits and veggies everywhere sold from the trucks, seasonal, very affordable, chicken meat ok, big farmers markets everywhere. Industrial goods are not so much available and expensive, clothes cheap, china stores for anything small.

Colombia (Cartagena), all services, travellift, fiberglas work. Chandleries small and tiny selection, expensive (50...100%+) canvas and sewing stuff cheap and in a overwhelming variety, chinese stores with most stuff available, smartphone and notebook repairs down to soldering on the streets. Basurto market is a must see (farmers market), you get there anything, fruit and veggies cheap, big malls, nice well sorted supermarkets, european prices, alcohol / wine expensive, coffee expensive, meat great quality and affordable, special butcher store where you can order what you want in any quantity vacuum sealed and deep frozen if you want it. Big cash and carry market for lyrge quantities. Amazon US delivers free from 30$ to 200$, above 200$ high import taxes are applied. Pharmacies expensive, but well stocked

Panama Linton Bay - small supermarket, very limited selection, ok-ish price wise, supermarkets reacheable by bustaxi or car rental, fuel affordable, fruits and veggies very limited (local seller comes to the marina with a selection of the day) Pharmacies expensive, they sell single pills for fantasy prices.

San Blas - away from civilization - no shops, but a lancha once a week with a variety of fruits and veggies and some essentials from pricesmart, eggs, chicken, butter, flower, sugar, rum, wine, beer, soft drinks. Local fisherman sell you the catch of the day (coral fish, lobster, octopus, conch) You can order on whatsapp other stuff and likely will get it all delivered for a charge.

Panama City has probably again everything you may want.

Mexico - (Cozumel, Isla) huge supermarkets, anything you need, prices ok, quality of food and veggies very good, meat very good, chandleries non existent, pharmacies everywhere for prescription drugs like Antibiotics etc. Expensive and targeting US tourists. Alcohol between cheap and expensive, coffee expensive, beer ok, fuel affordable. Great for provisioning.

Bahamas / Exumas - fuel expensive and often not available, supermarkets generally expensive, alcohol, beer, milk cheese very expensive, beach bars expensive, fresh fruit and veggies very expensive, little to no local farmers markets, meat ok, chandleries rare and very expensive. There are freight forwarder from Florida if you need parts, services / travel lifts very limited. Provision well before arriving - the water is amazing.

Jamaica - fresh markets with local produce - not cheap, but ok. Some larger supermarkets are well sorted, prices vary on eu level. Pharmacies are more like a general store with a counter for medicaments. Fuel slightly cheaper than EU. Chandleries rare (only in the capital), public transportation with bus cheap, luxury tourist bus much more expensive, taxi expensive.

Hope this helps.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Drek4

Yes I do agree, but some places certain produce or required items can be excessive in prices.

True, but I’ve always changed my eating habits to suit what’s locally available , about the only staple I like is coffee.

Of course in recent years I’ve concentrated my sailing in the med , this is the best area on the planet for good local food. Whereas provisioning in the Caribbean , aside from the French islands was hit and miss , foreign food was available at a price , and the local diet is quite restrictive, but it’s a matter of changing your diet to suit.

[goboatingnow]

Just a comment on the canaries , the vegetable markets ( for vegetables ) in places like Las Palmas , are much better then the supermarkets if you are provisioning for a crossing

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

... Fiji is easily the most developed economy and has the largest stocks of locally produced foods and materials, while the Milk Run countries east of there are largely dependent on imports, with their attendant higher costs. The flip side, while there are lots of packaged/preserved foods available in Fiji you have to adopt a Fijian palate if you want to avail yourself of their ready availability.

In the main centres of Lautoka, Suva, Nadi and Labasa I agree with Heywood, but in towns and villages much less choice. Yes they have supermarkets, but they're full of canned tuna, flour and local brand ship biscuits. Always chock full of coke, potatoe chips, instant noodles and other assorted junk food. Meats are available but choice is limited and it's expensive, so is alcohol. There are many (what you might call) local farmers markets and everywhere you go there are roadside sellers. And it continues to amazes me that no matter the remoteness there are people selling from stalls on the side of the road, maybe 20 cars passing a day.

So fresh produce is mainly confined to taro/dalo, coconuts, pineapple, cucumber (they have cucumber in every dish), cassava, ginger, poor quality small tomatoes, bananas (many varieties), chicken, eggs, melon, egg plant, pumpkin and a variety of green leafy veges. Oh and there will always big a large section of the market devoted to selling kava, all forms, various varieties, typically about $F100 per kilo. You wont find fresh milk, milk powder is the main form. Cheese is horrendously expensive and the local cheese is putrid. Outside of the main centres there is no electrickery, so no refrigeration and everyone still cooks on wood stoves.

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Drek4 we were in Fiji just before Covid and I was surprised at how high the supermarket prices were for a third world country. It wasn't expensive but considering how low the wages are I thought it would be more affordable.

And Fore & Aft's comments ring very true. The average wage in many such places is $40 per day (local currency) and that's if there's work. I was astounded to visit resorts that charge $US2,500 per night for a bure and yet when you order your expensive drinks it's likely the bar staff are likely to earn around $F5 an hour. That's about US$2.25 per hour before tax. And the reality is that prices are generally not especially different. In fact much is more expensive relatively because so much has to be imported, containers unloaded and the small quantities are then shipped by little boats all over the islands. So there's little point in stocking stuff that no one (except tourists) has the money to buy anyway.

But back to the OP who asked about Oceania, wow it's a big area of the world comprising many different countries. But when it comes to Island nations, whilst they are all unique, most of the people are comparatively very poor, don't expect Western style shopping except in main centres because you'll be very disappointed.

My comments about Fiji are I feel are equally valid in Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomons, PNG, Cooks, Tokelau etc. It is a little different in the French colonies of New Cal, French Polynesia (Tahiti) and Wallis & Fortuna where prices may bring tears to your eyes. Oh but the choice of cheeses, the fashions, so wonderful!

[goboatingnow]

In the main centres of Lautoka, Suva, Nadi and Labasa I agree with Heywood, but in towns and villages much less choice. Yes they have supermarkets, but they're full of canned tuna, flour and local brand ship biscuits. Always chock full of coke, potatoe chips, instant noodles and other assorted junk food. Meats are available but choice is limited and it's expensive, so is alcohol. There are many (what you might call) local farmers markets and everywhere you go there are roadside sellers. And it continues to amazes me that no matter the remoteness there are people selling from stalls on the side of the road, maybe 20 cars passing a day.

This is a common feature in many poor countries where so called supermarkets often sell western cheap junk food , pot noodles etc. Properly desired as a result of advertising , people new to cruising these areas need to be aware that often the local diet is very poor and restricted.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

The answer to this question depends on how much/willing you (are to) “go native”...

Indeed.
Everyone, everywhere eats - though some, not as much, as others.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Drek4 we were in Fiji just before Covid and I was surprised at how high the supermarket prices were for a third world country. It wasn't expensive but considering how low the wages are I thought it would be more affordable.
One thing we find expensive in Australia is good maple syrup, we paid $9 for a 250ml bottle yesterday. Unfortunately we acquired a taste for the good stuff while living in Canada and the cheap syrup just does not cut it.

Cheers
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/p...b676a2fb55ca8d

Thank you for your reply.
I will make sure to stock up, I thought it was expensive here, very good to know.