There’s little price relief in sight for supermarket shoppers, with Statistics New Zealand reporting another annual 6.6% increase in the cost of food.
In the midst of government moves to dampen food prices, the Stats NZ data shows grocery food prices increased the most in June compared to June 2021, with a 7.6% rise.
Stats NZ consumer prices manager Fiona Smillie said the grocery increase was largely down to increasing prices for milk, potato crisps, and yoghurt.
It was a similar story in May this year when yoghurt was the biggest single driver of prices in the supermarket.
The price of fruit and vegetables increased by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2021 while restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices also saw a chunky increase, with prices rising by 6.3% on June 2021 prices.
Stats NZ said eat-in lunch/brunch meals and dinner restaurant meals influenced this increase the most.
Prices for meat, poultry, and fish also recorded a more than 6% increase with prices rising 6.8%.
Monthly food prices were 1.2% higher in June 2022 compared with May 2022.
After adjusting for seasonal effects, food prices rose 0.8% from May.
Annual food price inflation hit a 10 year high of 7.6% in March.
The supermarket industry has been under intense scrutiny as commerce and consumer affairs minister David Clark rolls out the Government’s plans to improve competition in the sector and get better deals for New Zealand shoppers.
On July 6 Clark announced a grocery commissioner would be appointed to be a referee for the sector, “keeping the supermarket duopoly honest and blowing the whistle where it suspects there is a problem”.
It has also acted to end the big two - Woolworths and Foodstuffs - from using land covenants to block new stores being opened.
Legislation has already been passed which bans major supermarkets from blocking their competitors’ access to land to set up new stores.
Foodstuffs, a New Zealand-owned cooperative, said on Tuesday it had committed to ending the use of restrictive land covenants and exclusivity provisions in leases, and immediately started a process to remove all existing such clauses.
It said it had already removed 78 covenants from 135 land titles and that no covenant or exclusivity provision will be enforced while it was in the process of getting rid of them.
Clark also released a draft grocery code of conduct between major grocery retailers and their suppliers to ensure suppliers get a fair deal.
The Commerce Commission finalised its market study into the grocery industry in March.
It found competition in the retail grocery sector was not working well for consumers.
37 Comments
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/133211/cavendish-bana…
Where are you getting your gold plated bananas? 63c a piece at Woolies.
Was a bit tongue in cheek, but the lucky country grows fruit NZ only imports, so if they have any issues the price goes through the roof, while still remaining cheaper in NZ.
Fruit is expensive when you have to pay $25+ an hr for people to work on it. I just got a pineapple, a couple of mangos and a watermelon for $1.50. Downside is the average wage is about $1 an hr.
Where do you guys get your data/info, The Daily Star?
https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/11/11/littleproud-should-tell-truth-seas…
Were you so desperate to try and have a dig about Australia that you didn't even fact check yourself?
https://shop.coles.com.au/a/national/product/coles-fresh-bananas---loose
$3.90 per kg.
Try harder next time, champ.
I get it that the supermarket duopoly isn't achieving best competitive outcomes for consumers ....
... but ... watching work colleagues' lunches & snacks ... watching shoppers' grocery trolleys .... I'm witnessing a nation hooked on junk food , highly processed eats & drinks with mountains of sugar , saturated in fats ...
We are our own worst enemies in health & cost with the rubbish we're buying & consuming ... there is something we can do individually ...
Check your risk of cardiovascular event at https://cvdcalculator.com/ and see that a diet change or exercise probably does more than prescribed medication. Sugar is too easy to eat, hidden often and hard to stop for most.
Bit more food inflation, bit more house price deflation, this could be NZ ...fingers crossed.
Several Chinese property developers have said they would accept food as payment for homes in recent months, as they attempt to attract buyers.
The companies advertised deals to let people use produce - including peaches, water melons and garlic - as down payments on new homes.
Especially with the government banning large cash payments, you may be buying a house with a boot full of 1kg blocks of cheese.
I am puzzled. This government has shown its willingness to intervene in areas where it believes that the system is not working such as water and health. I would have thought it if they were looking for a really popular intervention, they would have come down hard on the supermarket duopoly, much harder than they have done.
What they have done may help a little at the margins, but that's all. If they are booted out next year, it will be interesting to see what if anything, a national led government might do, since they tend to believe that markets should be left to work things out for themselves without 'excessive' government intervention.
Water is about centralised control of the nations assets, not benefiting the people... rest assured water rates will likely increase as a result and regional areas with lower populations will see their water assets underperform
Healthcare is understaffed and the current healthcare workforce is under serious strain... has the government done much in this space?
Apparently everyone is eating three cheeseburger's worth of food calories over and above requirements every day.
So now is a good time to cut back. Simply reduce meals to two a day or, even better, just one in the early evening.
It's very unhealthy to be overfed. People who have gone through harsh wartime conditions or rationing have had increased lifespans as a result.
The other day I bought eight large chicken drumsticks for $6 and four lamb shoulder chops for around $10. That's enough food for two days. You could go cheaper if you mainly ate eggs.
The "outer ring" theory for food shopping is a winner. In any given week, all I buy from the aisle is usually canned tomatoes, canned beans, pasta, rice, spices, tea and cornflakes for junior. A bit of frozen veg in the winter but tbh if you cook all your meals, buying fresh ingredients is cheaper than convenience foods.
Got to be honest, it isn't like people grow their own food any more.
I remember visiting my great grandfather (ww2 vet) and he had a garden with enough veges for a family feast constantly available and numerous fruit trees planted around the garden. This, as well as a dozen or so chickens as well as some beehives, kept his grocery bill down for decades. A return to just growing a hobby garden seems to be on the cards.
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