Port Moresby - 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 generally expensive and unreliably available. Many items are imported from Australia or neighboring Asian countries. There are local fruits and veggies which you can buy from grocery stores and small markets and strawberries are flown in from the Highlands region once or twice a week, with a price to match the effort. Dairy products are usually restocked at Waterfront on Thursdays; by Monday there may be no yogurt, cottage cheese or fresh milk. Specific products such as unsalted butter may be unavailable for months or close to the expiration date. Other items may be surprisingly abundant, such as tortillas (often called "wraps") or boxed cake mix (which will cost at least twice the price of the U.S.) Imported frozen salmon is expensive, but in season local, fresh yellowfin tuna can be purchased for $5/pound. Turkeys sometimes appear in the frozen section of Waterfront, for approx $100 USD per bird. Household cleaners are generally available but do not have the brands/fragrances Americans may be used to. For State Department employees, this is a consumables post, but the consumable shipment may take many months to arrive, and in the process many shorter shelf-life items such as crackers, cookies and cereal will be stale before they arrive. Many foreign government employees have access to their mission’s pouch mail, which for Americans takes on average three weeks to be delivered from Dulles, and is an extremely helpful way to resupply items that are very expensive or very hard to find here. Dishwasher tabs and laundry pods can even be mailed from the U.S., two items that are rarely available locally and cost at least three times the price. Alcohol, including wine, has a high import tax. - Aug 2025
The big supermarkets import items from Australia, so you can get most things you need, at a substantialy marked up price. Imported fruits, veggies, milk and cheese are very expensive. The quality and availability of local fruits and veggies is inconsistent. Sometimes everything in the supermarket seemed wilted. - May 2019
Expensive, with occasional shortages. But you generally can get what you want for a price. Beef is pretty cheap. All dairy is imported, so it's expensive. Fresh milk costs about US$8 for one liter. Boxed milk is common and cheap. You can get cheese, but the selection varies. If you see a favorite, buy it and freeze it. Most imported foods come from Australia or NZ. There was an onion and carrot shortage for a few months last year. - Jun 2016
There are 2 main supermarkets catering to expats (Boroko Foodworld, and Anderson's). Decent meat at Boroko (there is a cattle farm in Walindi, West New Britain). Most Australian food is available, but more expensive and without as much variety. Most fresh fruits and veggies are imported, as is cheese, yogurt and fresh milk. You can get lots of spices, tofu, whole wheat bread and flour, dry beans, grains, and some healthy crackers and bars are available. Lots of junk food available (and many kids at school bring it for lunch). - Jun 2008
