Average Christmas Eve dinner cost RD$5,742 ($100 USD)

Santo Domingo—When December arrives, Dominicans begin to prepare for Christmas Eve, and supermarkets fill their shelves.

People are forced to visit different markets to see which prices are more convenient for them when buying products for their dinner.

These are some of the products that Dominicans use to prepare Christmas dinner.

Moro de guandules, baked chicken, pork, ripe plantain cake, sheet cakes, Russian salad, telera, liters of soft drinks, apples, and grapes.

How much do they cost?

A carton of eggs is being marketed between RD$180 and RD$210, bananas, which used to be worth about RD$20 “down,” are now priced at RD$25 to RD$35 per unit, a pound of rice, which used to cost 28 pesos is now being sold for RD$35 pesos and up.

The pound of pork oscillates at RD$500 compared to previous years when it cost 360 pesos, chicken at RD$75 a pound, and baked goods up to RD$380. The traditional sheet cakes vary in price between RD$120 and 150.

Other products, such as jumbo oil, are marketed at RD$1,050, a gallon of oil at RD$680, and a half gallon at RD$325, a pound of potato at 35.96.

Others

A pound of apples that used to cost RD$61 now costs RD$79, and grapes are priced at around RD$150, these without counting the disposable ones that many people use, and not including the cost of drinks or Christmas sweets.

For Christmas Eve, a family of four would have to spend the following: if they buy two baked chickens, they would have to spend RD$760; if they buy four pounds of pork, it would cost RD$2000, while if they buy six cakes in sheets, RD$120 would make them RD$720, if they buy a half gallon of oil they would spend RD$325.

If you buy three pounds of apples at RD$79 you would spend RD$237, two pounds of grapes would be RD$300. To make the moro de guandules, you would need to buy 5 pounds of rice for RD$175 and a pound and a half of pigeon peas for 135 pesos. If you buy five pounds of potatoes, you would spend RD$185, the pound of carrots is RD$35 while if you buy 5, it would cost RD$175, the telera at RD$45, so if you buy two you would be spending 90 pesos, the pound of onion at RD$128 so if you buy 4 pounds it would cost you at RD$512.

These data reflect that families must spend 5,742 pesos to be able to prepare Christmas Eve dinner. This is enough for four people.

Prices in Inespre

Pork legs cost RD$1,500, suckling pigs at RD$2,500, half a leg at RD$750, sack of rice at RD$500, carton of eggs at RD$120, plantains at RD$3.

In addition, they have a special combo for RD$650 that contains select rice in a 5-pound sheath, 16-ounce edible oil, a 10-unit box of chocolate bar, 400-gram spaghetti, 14-ounce corn flour, 454-gram ground salt, 15-ounce sardines in tomato sauce, 8-ounce seasoning powder, 16-ounce natural golden vinegar, 5-ounce tuna chunks in oil, half-pound ground coffee and two pounds of cream sugar.

Comparison with previous years

By 2020, preparing a Christmas dinner will cost around RD$5,000 for an average family in the Dominican Republic. A pound of ground beef at RD$156.95, frozen turkey at RD$129.00, a pound of fresh pigeon peas at RD$138.95, baked chicken at RD$310.00, a pound of baked pork at RD$360.00 and baked turkey at RD$330. It should be noted that 2020 was a hectic year for all Dominicans as the country went through a health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the world.

For that year, the 30-unit carton of eggs in the supermarket was between RD$168.95 and RD$225.00, the pound of barceló tomatoes at RD$33.95, of cubanela chili at RD$47.95 of cucumber at RD$14.45 and of bell bell pepper at RD$59.95.

For dinner on December 24 in the Dominican Republic in 2021, it was RD$4,500. Four pounds of pork cost RD$360 without baking each pound at RD$90 a pound.

To make a moro de guandules, a family of six would spend at least RD$500. Rice costs RD$25 a pound, a can of guandules with coconut at RD$100 and without coconut at RD$75, a one-pound package of vegetables at RD$50, a medium sauce at RD$75, and a 12-unit sopita at RD$50.

Meanwhile, an apple unit at that time cost RD$40, and a pound of grapes around RD$200.

A dish that cannot be left off the table is the sheet cakes, which cost between RD$85 and RD$120 per unit, depending on their size.

By 2022, dinner with the family will cost RD$5,000, and baked chicken will cost RD$309, so buying two chickens could cost around RD$618. The sheet cakes varied according to the type of dough: if they were made with plantain or cassava, they cost around RD$100 per unit. In this case, as it is a family of six, it would reach RD$600.

As for drinks, the price in supermarkets that year was: two-liter soft drink at RD$72, cider from RD$174, and punch at RD$330.

Another of the dishes they like to consume on those dates is Russian salad, and its preparation involves a mixture of potatoes (five pounds) at RD$49, carrot (two pounds) at RD$28, and beet (two pounds) at RD$24.