Doha - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
I would say the prices are comparable to DC. Doha has just about everything American you might want and it just comes down to price you are willing to pay. I no longer look at the prices because if I'm seeking it out then I obviously want it. QDC where you can get beer and alcohol, if you join ($), has basic pork products so you can still enjoy those meals. There are also lots of decent restaurants to try and Talabat delivers fairly quickly and efficiently. - Oct 2023
Almost everything is available, and at about the same cost as DC. The only thing you can't find in the local economy is pork products and alcohol. You can get a membership to the local package store and buy overpriced alcohol and pork. The Embassy also has a shop where they bring in beer, wine, and liquor. - Jul 2022
You can find pretty much everything. but more expensive, if you have babies is way better to order everything. Baby stuff here is madly expensive, also cleaners, shampoos, all these kind of stuff. You can find them but expensive. - Apr 2021
Availability hasn't been a problem, other than the lack of pork and alcohol (though both are available at QDC). Prices are higher to be sure, I'd say 1.5 times standard D.C. prices on most products. Having said that, if you're willing to pay for it, you can get it in Doha. See the $9 USD bag of Doritos I splurge on here and there. - May 2017
Slightly more expensive, but not terribly so. - May 2017
groceries are readily available but expensive. Everything is imported. - May 2015
Very expensive, availability varies. Dairy products are often out of stock and always go bad very fast due to being left out in the heat for too long. There is a pretty wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but for some reason they all go bad exceptionally fast here so it's impossible to get more than a day or two worth. There are random products that are very hard (if not impossible) to find here, such as feminine hygiene products and dryer sheets. It's hard to find sensitive-skin and non-scented cleaning products, too. There is pretty good availability of dry-goods, decent cereal selection, lots of pastas and rices, most canned items, etc., but it's all quite expensive (about US$10 for a box of cereal, for example). And of course there is no alcohol or pork here. Alcohol includes vanilla extract, by the way. So that precludes most baking. - Feb 2015
Learn to buy regional products and you can save money on groceries.e.g. Saudi Feta cheese is $2/pound!Still, you can find every expat comfort food you might crave. You'll just pay $$ for it. - Apr 2012
Not expensive, if bought in bulk like in Costco. - Mar 2012
There are a number of Western supermarkets including Carrefour and Spinney's. You can find pretty much any British product and most U.S. products if you are willing to pay for them. Veggies are imported and expect to pay a premium for quality. If you have to have the exact same brands you eat at home, shopping can get expensive, but if you're willing to go with other brands and try some tasty middle eastern and indian foods, it's not too expensive. - Mar 2012
I find things to be reasonable here. You need to seek out local produce, otherwise you will pay dearly for US lettuce or Dutch broccoli. You can get meats from all over the world, and you just need to shop around for best quality and pricing. US cereal is pricey (about $7 a box) but delicious feta cheese is $2/pound. Learn to love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods and you will save $$$ on your grocery bill. Note that there is one shop in the entire country where you can buy alcohol and pork products, QDC. You must apply for a permit to shop there. It is expensive, but you can't beat a BLT or a cold beer when you want one. - Jan 2012
Everything is more expensive then in the states, but if you stay away from the western-type grocery stores (like MegaMart), you won't spend too much more then what you are used to. - Oct 2010
Groceries are so expensive you can't even joke about it, and the prices keep going up. That said, you can get everything you want. You just have to decide what you are willing to pay for. - Sep 2008
