Groceries are expensive nearly everywhere, so while in the Philippines in December, we decided to check out a local supermarket and compare prices to Walmart Canada.

Many Filipinos prefer to shop at "wet markets," where items — including vegetables, fruit, meat, chicken, and seafood — can be bought much cheaper.

However, since they are hardly comparable to the typical Canadian shopping experience, we chose a different route.

We decided to head to Shopwise — a chain of supermarkets that stocks local products and imported items familiar to Canadian shoppers.

To compare, we decided to go with the prices available at Walmart Canada. While some items were surprisingly more expensive ($7/kg for russet potatoes in this economy?), you might be shocked that others were on par with what you'll find in Canada.

But it's important to note that while those prices might seem reasonable, they're high for some Filipinos. In Canada, the federal minimum wage currently stands at $16.65 per hour, while the average monthly salary in the Philippines in 2022 was 18,423 pesos ($439.75), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

A Filipino tourist found food prices in Canada so shocking that she even created a TikTok video about it.

We used this website to calculate the product's price per unit for some items to get a more accurate idea of the pricing.

Walk down a supermarket aisle in Manila and see how prices compare.

Bakery

White bread

• Philippines: 85 pesos/600 g ($2.05)
• Canada: $2.97/675 g

Eggs, chicken, and seafood

Eggs

• Philippines: 135 pesos/dozen ($3.26)
• Canada: $3.87/dozen

Chicken breast

• Philippines: 253 pesos/kg ($6.10)
• Canada: $15.10/kg

Salmon

• Philippines: 1,218 pesos/kg ($29.37)
• Canada: $35.98/kg

Produce

Bananas

• Philippines: 90 pesos/kg ($2.17)
• Canada: $3/kg

Fuji apple

• Philippines: 110 pesos/piece ($2.65)
• Canada: 79 cents/piece

Russet potatoes

• Philippines: 300 pesos/kg ($7.23)
• Canada: $1.75/kg

Dairy

Greek yogurt

• Philippines: 67 pesos/125 g cup ($1.62)
• Canada: $1.07/100 g cup

Processed Cheese slices

• Philippines: 255 pesos/12 slices ($6.15)
• Canada: $5.78/14 slices

Canned goods

Black beans

• Philippines: 99 pesos/425 ml can ($2.39)
• Canada: $1.47/540 ml can

Tuna

• Philippines: 48 pesos/180 g can ($1.16)
• Canada: $4.97/180 g can

Pantry items

Jasmine rice

• Philippines: 80.2 pesos/kg ($1.95)
• Canada: $2.37/kg

Pasta

• Philippines: 15.4 pesos/100 g (37 cents)
• Canada: 31 cents/100 g

Peanut butter

• Philippines: 54 pesos/100 g ($1.30)
• Canada: 67 cents/100 g

Snacks

Pringles

• Philippines: 118 pesos/110 g ($2.85)
• Canada: $2.98/156 g

Maltesers

• Philippines: 107 pesos/100 g ($2.58)
• Canada: $3.28/100 g

Potato chips

• Philippines: 105 pesos/100 g ($2.53)
• Canada: $1.69/100 g