Panama Grocery Costs for Expats: A Real Basket at Super 99, Riba Smith and PriceSmart

Not financial advice. Prices below were checked on public product pages and official reports on 19 October 2026. Supermarket prices move with promotions, store location and stock. This is orientation for expats who cook at home, not a quote. Claims marked (official) come from a government page, a MEF report, or a store policy page. Claims marked (secondary) come from named news coverage of ACODECO or other reporters. Where we could not verify a shelf price, we say UNVERIFIED and do not invent a number. Amounts are in balboas (B/.), which trade at par with the US dollar.

Who this guide is for

This guide is for expats who already know the big store names and want a concrete 2026 price check: what a small weekly basket actually rings up at Super 99, how Riba Smith compares on the same kinds of goods, what PriceSmart membership really costs, and how official "canasta basica" figures relate to an expat kitchen.

It complements the overview guide on where to shop. It does not rewrite that store tour. If you need the map of Super 99, Riba Smith, El Machetazo, PriceSmart, Mercado de Abastos and delivery apps, start there, then come back here for the numbers.

The short version

• A small "local staples" Super 99 basket we priced online on 19 Oct 2026 (eggs, milk, bananas, bread, lentils, soy oil, chicken breast by kilo, coffee sachets, local beer) lands around B/.20 to B/.25 before you add cheese, wine or olive oil (official, Super 99 product pages).
• Riba Smith was higher on several comparable pantry items we could open (eggs, peanut butter, bulk oil), which matches the premium positioning. Exact apples-to-apples packs are not always the same brand or size (official, Riba Smith product pages).
• PriceSmart Diamond membership is US$40 per year plus 7% ITBMS; Diamond Platinum is US$80 plus 7% ITBMS (official, PriceSmart Panama membership local conditions). Item shelf prices on the public product pages we fetched were UNVERIFIED (pages did not expose a stable price in the HTML).
• Super 99 advertises free delivery on purchases of B/.50 or more before ITBMS; otherwise delivery is B/.3.50 or B/.5.50 plus ITBMS depending on volume (official, Super 99 how-to-buy page).
• MEF's May 2026 caloric canasta for Panama and San Miguelito was B/.367.00 for 59 products. ACODECO supermarket monitoring cited in October 2026 news put a 59-product supermarket average near B/.305. Those are different methodologies. Neither is an expat "imported comfort food" budget (official MEF; secondary ACODECO via Critica / Economia Panama).

How to read this basket

We built one small household basket from items many expats buy every week: local staples first, then a few "comfort" imports. We priced what public pages exposed. We did not invent missing Super 99 rice SKUs when search returned a maintenance page. We did not invent PriceSmart shelf prices when the club pages rendered without a clear amount.

Compare brands and pack sizes carefully. A 2 lb bag of rice is not a 5 lb bag. "Pechuga por peso" is per kilo. A single Cafe Duran sachet is not a tin of ground coffee.

Super 99: verified shelf samples (19 Oct 2026)

• Melo huevos medianos (12 units): B/.2.43 (Super 99 product page)
• Nevada leche entera (946 ml): B/.1.89 (Super 99 product page)
• Bonlac leche entera UHT (946 ml): B/.1.61 (Super 99 product page)
• La Chiricana leche entera UHT (946 ml): B/.1.73 (Super 99 product page)
• Guineo de exportacion (per kilo): B/.1.05 (Super 99 product page)
• La Sabrosita pan pullman (600 g): B/.1.35 (Super 99 product page)
• Carolina lentejas (454 g): B/.1.15 (Super 99 product page)
• La Sabrosita aceite de soya (3 L): B/.6.59 (Super 99 product page)
• Pechugas sueltas por peso (per kilo): B/.3.25 (Super 99 product page)
• Cafe Duran (22 g sachet): B/.0.44 (Super 99 product page)
• Atlas Golden Light cerveza (355 ml can): B/.0.79 (Super 99 product page)
• Casillero del Diablo Merlot (750 ml): B/.8.99 (Super 99 product page)
• Cremoso queso amarillo (per kilo): B/.14.78 (Super 99 product page)
• Derilacpa queso blanco duro (per kilo): B/.11.50 (Super 99 product page)
• Borges aceite de oliva extra virgen (1 L): B/.10.39 (Super 99 product page)

Illustrative mini-basket (one of each staple line, 1 kg chicken breast, 1 kg bananas, one beer, one coffee sachet, cheapest of the three milks): about B/.21 using Bonlac milk at B/.1.61. Add 0.5 kg yellow cheese and the Merlot and you jump past B/.40 quickly. That is the expat pattern: local staples stay gentle; cheese, wine and olive oil move the ticket.

Riba Smith: verified shelf samples (19 Oct 2026)

• Melo huevos medianos (listed pack): B/.2.33 (Riba Smith product page)
• Melo huevos grandes (listed pack): B/.2.53 (Riba Smith product page)
• Arroz especial Pelin (2 lb): B/.1.65 (Riba Smith product page)
• Arroz especial Pelin (5 lb): B/.4.12 (Riba Smith product page)
• Arroz de primera Premier (listed pack): B/.3.21 (Riba Smith product page)
• Ricavena avena en hojuelas (listed pack): B/.0.95 (Riba Smith product page)
• Quaker avena integral (listed pack): B/.1.69 (Riba Smith product page)
• Manitoba mantequilla de mani creamy (listed pack): B/.3.29 (Riba Smith product page)
• Jif mantequilla de mani en crema (listed pack): B/.4.29 (Riba Smith product page)
• Aceite vegetal Wesson (24 oz): B/.4.34 (Riba Smith product page)
• Aceite vegetal Girol (5 L): B/.12.77 (Riba Smith product page)
• Aceite de oliva extra virgen A (listed pack): B/.5.26 (Riba Smith product page)

Use Riba when you need a specific import brand, a better deli run, or you are already in Multiplaza / Costa del Este / Bella Vista and value the assortment. For plain eggs, oil and rice, check Super 99 or a local verduleria before you assume the premium aisle is worth it that day.

PriceSmart: membership math (prices of goods UNVERIFIED online)

From PriceSmart Panama membership local conditions (official, fetched 19 Oct 2026):

• Diamond: US$40 per year + 7% ITBMS (member card plus one additional card)
• Diamond Platinum: US$80 per year + 7% ITBMS
• Business: US$40 + 7% ITBMS; extra cards US$15 + 7% ITBMS each (up to 3)
• Business Platinum: US$80 + 7% ITBMS; extra cards US$20 + 7% ITBMS each (up to 3)

Diamond alone is about B/.42.80 with ITBMS. Platinum is about B/.85.60. Passport is commonly enough to join (secondary, expat writeups; confirm at the counter).

We opened public PriceSmart Panama product URLs for rice and chicken trays. The HTML we saved did not expose a reliable shelf price, so bulk item prices are UNVERIFIED in this draft. Treat membership as a fixed cost you must earn back with bulk staples, frozen protein, paper goods and Member's Selection items you actually finish. A solo shopper who mostly buys fresh produce and small packs may never clear the annual fee. A couple or family that hits the club twice a month usually does.

Delivery and the B/.50 line

Super 99's how-to-buy page (official) states:

• Delivery costs B/.3.50 or B/.5.50 (+ ITBMS) depending on order volume
• Orders of B/.50 or more before ITBMS get free delivery

If your basket is already near B/.45, adding a staple you will use can be cheaper than paying delivery. PedidosYa and store apps still matter for rainy-season days; fee schedules change, so check the app quote before you assume the Super 99 web rule applies on every partner channel.

What official "canasta" numbers mean for you

Two public benchmarks often get mixed up:

• MEF caloric canasta (May 2026, official PDF): Panama and San Miguelito B/.367.00 for 59 products; Resto Urbano B/.346.09. This tracks a fixed national food basket for policy analysis.
• ACODECO supermarket monitoring (secondary news): Critica (4 Oct 2026) reported B/.304.68 average for 59 products in supermarket channels in Panama and San Miguelito, versus B/.355.21 in minisuper and abarroterias. Economia Panama cited about US$304.85 for early August 2026 ACODECO figures.

Neither basket is built around almond milk, imported cheddar, gluten-free pasta or European wine. Expats who cook "like home" commonly sit above the official canasta even when they shop carefully at Super 99, because the uplift is in dairy, specialty protein and imports. Expats who cook Panamanian-style (rice, beans, plantain, local chicken, market produce) can land near or under those headline figures.

When each store wins

• Super 99: weekly defaults, milk, eggs, local chicken, bananas, store bread, promotions, free delivery over B/.50.
• Riba Smith: specific US/EU brands, better prepared-food and cheese runs, one-stop premium shop when time matters more than the ticket.
• PriceSmart: bulk rice/oil/protein, household paper, frozen trays, Member's Selection, if membership is already paid and you have storage.
• Local markets / verdulerias (orientation only in this guide): produce and seafood often beat any chain on freshness and price. We did not scrape Abastos stalls online; go early with cash and a local friend the first time.

Practical tips for expats

• Price the unit (B/. per kilo or per litre), not the pretty pack.
• Keep a "local default" list and an "import treat" list so comfort foods do not silently double the month.
• Watch encartes (weekly flyers). The same chicken or oil can move B/.1 to B/.2 in a week.
• ITBMS is 7% on many taxable goods and services. Some basic foods are treated differently at the register; do not reverse-engineer tax from a single receipt without advice (official DGI ITBMS pages exist; line-item treatment is a checkout fact, not a blog claim).
• Interior towns (Boquete, Coronado, Bocas) have thinner import aisles and fewer club options. Budget a Panama City stock-up run if you rely on specific brands.

FAQ

Do I need residency for PriceSmart?

Passport is commonly accepted for membership signup (secondary). Confirm documents at your club.

Is Riba always more expensive?

On several pantry items we checked, yes. On a promotion or a size that Super 99 does not stock, not always. Compare the same brand and grams.

Why is my month higher than B/.367?

The MEF canasta is not an expat shopping list. Cheese, wine, olive oil, imported cereal and delivery fees add up fast. Our Super 99 samples show how quickly "one nice bottle and half a kilo of yellow cheese" changes the total.

Can I trust website prices?

They are a real signal and were live on the pages we fetched on 19 Oct 2026. In-store tags and apps can differ. Recheck before you plan a tight budget.

What about El Machetazo?

It remains a budget warehouse option in the overview guide. We did not build a verified online basket for it in this deep-dive because public item pages were not in our fetch set.

Not advice

This guide is general orientation. It is not tax, nutrition or financial advice. Confirm membership rules, delivery fees and shelf prices at the store or in the app before you rely on them.

Sources

• <a href="https://www.super99.com/">Super 99</a> - product pages and how-to-buy delivery rules - fetched 19 Oct 2026
• <a href="https://www.ribasmith.com/">Riba Smith</a> - product pages for pantry samples - fetched 19 Oct 2026
• <a href="https://www.pricesmart.com/en-pa/membership/info">PriceSmart Panama membership info</a> and local conditions - Diamond / Platinum fees + ITBMS - fetched 19 Oct 2026
• <a href="https://www.mef.gob.pa/canasta-basica/">MEF Canasta Basica</a> - May 2026 caloric canasta PDF (Panama/San Miguelito B/.367.00; Resto Urbano B/.346.09) - fetched 19 Oct 2026
• <a href="https://www.critica.com.pa/nacional/canasta-basica-cuanto-cuesta-comprar-59-productos-en-panama">Critica</a> - ACODECO 59-product supermarket vs minisuper averages - 4 Oct 2026
• <a href="https://www.economiapanama.com/costo-de-la-canasta-basica-se-ubica-en-304-85-en-la-primera-quincena-de-agosto-2026-segun-acodeco/">Economia Panama</a> - ACODECO early August 2026 figure - secondary
• <a href="https://dgi.mef.gob.pa/">DGI</a> - ITBMS concept pages - orientation only - fetched 19 Oct 2026