Tunis - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Groceries are cheap but it can be hard to find some US items. The fruits are amazing but many are seasonal - get used to enjoying them in their season and their absence later will make their eventual return that much sweeter. The large supermarkets are pretty dumpy. There are occasional shortages of subsidized staples such as milk, pasta, and sugar. A couple times there were gas shortages. - Jan 2024
Fruit and vegetables are brilliant and seasonal and very cheap. There are good local markets and needless to say fish is excellent and fresh. Butchers shops are widespread and you can get pork products in some supermarkets and delis. Local wine is just ok (sometimes good)- diplomats can get duty free imports of french wine but otherwise expensive. Local beer is ok but limited selection. Limited specialist vegetarian or vegan products but tofu is available. Imported SE Asian foods available in specialist shops. There is good cheese available (French style) and dairy in general is good value. Fresh milk is hard to find but there are a few places you can order, otherwise UHT. Some organic and health foods also available. There have been recent flour and sugar shortages but this seems to be resolved. - Jun 2022
Fruits and veggies are very seasonal but good quality and cheap. Excellent pastries and baguettes, but poor dairy products. Some of the smaller stores have good cheeses/meat, but there is not a lot of variety. The commissary or duty-free store are best for alcohol, although you can buy local wines and some beers at Carrefour. - May 2022
French Supermarkets stock the main items. Dairy is not great here. It's very inexpensive but often the quality is low. - Nov 2020
Groceries are inexpensive but quality often lacks. Some US brands but not much. - May 2020
Carrefour, MG Mart and Monoprix are here. Pretty much anything you need you can find here, including peanut butter and taco kits. The brands are French or Tunisian and quality/tastes vary from the US, so we're still bringing in some choice groceries via Amazon. Fruits and vegetables are available fresh and cheap on the local market.
Pork products are available at Carrefour and some specialty shops - in terms of sandwich meat the pork is probably higher quality than the other stuff available by virtue of import. - Nov 2017
Carrefour is the place to shop. Most items that are available in the US can be found in Tunis. And there is always Net Grocer. - Nov 2015
Groceries are the same or cheaper than the U.S., produce is MUCH cheaper than the U.S.! Things like squash and pumpkin are incredibly cheap. There is no good junk food here which was nice, the only chips they have are Bugles...not even crackers! - Nov 2014
Not bad if you are smart. Eat seasonally and buy your produce and meat at the markets rather than at Carrefour. Don't bother with the import stores unless you need something specific. - Jul 2013
About the same as in the US. The economy is closed, so they don't import many goods. You won't find: tortilla chips, salsa, tacos, brownie mix, good garbage bags, good toilet paper/Kleenex, dryer sheets, chocolate chips, etc. And sunscreen is expensive! - Jun 2013
There is a giant Walmart style chain store called Carrefour. It has everything like Walmart and carries both US and European (mostly French) brands. The US brands are not as common, but there are US brands of beauty products, candy, soda, rice, Asian foods, chips and cereal. US brands are expensive. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat cost less than the US. Fresh bread is most less expensive than the US (baguette costs 30 cents). You should bring your own cleaning supplies from the US. - Feb 2012
Locally grown or produced food items are cheap, whether you go to the local markets or to Carrefour and the other big supermarkets. Imported stuff is very expensive, and many items are simply not available. Imported items are predominately French and Italian. - Oct 2011
Mostly pretty cheap - especially produce from the local markets. Almost all the fruits and veggies were locally grown, which made them incredibly fresh and tasty. You have to learn to work with the seasons when certain things aren't available. We ate a lot of fennel from Jan-March! Other household supplies are quite affordable as well. The big Carrefour, while a complete mad-house most of the time, was convenient because you could get everything you needed in one shopping trip. - Jul 2010
Crazy expensive if you shop at the US Embassy commissary. Not too bad at Carrefour or Geant; but cheap at local shops and the sunday market. - May 2010
The produce in Tunisia is amazing and cheap. Everything is seasonal. Groceries are of the local variety with some knock-off American cereals (not good) and imported European stuff (good but pricey). - Jan 2010
