Food Expert Panel submission to Grocery Market Study

.The NZ Retail Grocery Market Study conducted by the Commerce Commission was released late July 2021 for consultation. This report had some stark findings including that NZ has the 6th highest grocery prices in the OECD and the current supermarket duopoly makes close to 3 times the profit compared to overseas counterparts. They also control the wholesale market and place restrictions on land that could be used for competitor stores, both of which make it very difficult for a competitor to enter the grocery market in this country. Furthermore, in the current environment, food suppliers have very little bargaining power and the price promotion of food is very confusing for consumers. There are some great infographics on the website which summarise the main findings of the report, the options to increase competition and how consumers would benefit and can be found here. HCA’s Food Expert Panel last week prepared a submission on the study. It supported the recommendations in the submission from Consumer NZ, but also highlighted the impact that high food prices has on families struggling financially including food insecurity, poor diet and the health consequences of poor diet. We also advocated that everyone has fair access to all food price reductions not just people who choose to join loyalty schemes and for increased bargaining power for our suppliers, in particular, our growers of fresh fruit and vegetables. You can read the full submission, which was endorsed by the HCA Board here.