Asmara - Post Report Question and Answers
What household or grocery items do you wish you had shipped to post?
We did ship the things we needed, and we've taken some quick trips to Dubai for vacation and come back with coolers full of groceries. The most important thing--if you like a particular kind of ethnic/cultural cuisine, bring the staples of that cuisine. You will have a hard time finding things like soy sauce, tortillas, etc. - Apr 2021
We wished we'd bought and sent more Chinese cooking ingredients, particularly black vinegar. Our container still has not arrived, so we're at the stage where we don't even remember what we sent. - Dec 2019
Wines (especially white wines) are limited, and a good thing to ship in a consumables shipment if you have that opportunity. Sauces and liquids (especially for ethnic cuisines/flavor palates other than Italian) are worth shipping. Italian food, as well as Eritrean/Ethiopian food/spices are widely available. Also useful to bring over the counter medicines. Many people enjoy having a bicycle too, for both transportation and recreational riding. Eritreans are big into cycling, again both for transportation and competitively. It's not uncommon for expats to plan weekend getaways to Dubai periodically and bring back meats, cheeses, or butter in insulated bags, to get a broader variety than is available locally. Beef, lamb, and seafood are available here. Chicken and pork are scarce. - Feb 2019
Liquid, liquids and more liquids. Oils, laundry detergent, sauces, good beer, wine, hard alcohol, beauty items, and canned items.. - Sep 2018
I would recommend shipping as many liquid products as possible. Juices. Beer (as beer can be precarious). You have to have crates and bottles to get beer from the Asmara beer factory. Crates and bottles can be difficult to locate. There is sometimes beer at the duty free (cans) for $20.00 for 24 cans. But, they instituted a limit on alcohol purchase at duty free as well. If you go out for dinner and you buy a bottle of Asmara beer it is about 25 Nakfa ($1.60). If you buy any kind of import or Asmara beer in the can it is roughly 150 Nakfa ($10.00)
So, ship any liquids you might use. Also any kid of canned pet food. - Dec 2016
We pretty much knew that we had to bring everything. - Aug 2007
