Jamaica's Grocery Basket, by the Numbers

The Jamaican grocery basket is remarkably consistent across income levels. Rice, flour, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, cornmeal, bread, and tinned mackerel appear on virtually every household's shopping list. What changes with income is the cut of chicken (back vs. breast), the frequency of saltfish purchases, and whether shopping happens at Coronation Market or MegaMart.

Here's what these staples actually cost right now, based on the BuyersMarket database tracking 20,957 prices across 31 stores.

The Core Staples

Source: BuyersMarket database, updated March 2, 2026. 20,957 prices across 31 stores. All prices in JMD.

Why These Items Matter

According to STATIN's CPI basket (based on the 2017 Household Expenditure Survey covering approximately 12,500 households), food and non-alcoholic beverages account for 35.8% of household spending — the single largest CPI division. Within that, the heaviest-weighted classes are cereals and cereal products, meat (primarily chicken), fish and seafood (mackerel and saltfish), vegetables and tubers, and oils and fats.

This matches what we see in our database. The most-tracked items — appearing across 20+ stores — are exactly the staples that anchor the Jamaican diet: corned beef, baked beans, mackerel, condensed milk, and bread.

The Protein Problem

Protein is the most expensive part of the basket. Dried saltfish — the essential ingredient in ackee and saltfish — averages J$2,734 per kilogram. At the most expensive store, it's J$3,301. A family buying half a kilogram per week is spending J$1,367 to J$1,651 on a single ingredient.

This is why tinned mackerel (averaging J$116 per tin) and corned beef (J$542 per tin) remain the protein backbone of budget-conscious Jamaican households. They're shelf-stable, GCT-exempt (mackerel in tomato sauce), and available at virtually every store we track.

The Brands on Jamaica's Shelves

Our database reflects the brands that define Jamaican grocery shopping:

Grace dominates with 540 products — mackerel, corned beef, coconut milk, baked beans, jerk seasoning, and browning sauce. Lasco holds 229 products spanning food drinks, cooking oil, and canned beans. These are Jamaica's pantry brands.

What a Weekly Basket Costs

Based on our price data and household expenditure research, here's what a basic weekly basket looks like at three spending levels:

Budget basket (J$8,000–10,000/week) For a minimum wage earner at J$16,000/week, this covers rice (bulk), flour, cooking oil, tinned mackerel, sugar, and cornmeal — calorically dense but nutritionally limited. This basket is typically purchased from wholesale shops and open-air markets, not supermarkets.

Middle-class basket (J$25,000–45,000/week) For a two-income household earning J$250,000–350,000/month combined. Adds chicken parts, eggs, saltfish, fresh produce, bread, and condensed milk. This shopper splits purchases between PriceSmart or MegaMart (monthly bulk) and Hi-Lo or Progressive (weekly top-up).

Premium basket (J$60,000–100,000+/week) For higher-income households or expatriates. Adds imported beef, specialty dairy, fresh herbs, and branded international products. These shoppers pay a significant premium for imported goods that attract duties and logistical markups.

The biggest factor separating these baskets is protein. Moving from tinned mackerel to chicken parts to saltfish to imported beef is what drives the weekly bill from J$8,000 to J$100,000.

Explore the Data Yourself

Every price point cited in this article is drawn from our live database. You can search any product, compare across stores, and check A-B-C ratings at buyersmarket.app/dashboard.

We track 18,324 products across 31 stores — including Hi-Lo, MegaMart, PriceSmart, Sampars, Loshusan, Shopper's Fair, Super Valu, and Coolmarket — with 20,957 current prices updated daily.