NZ grocery price hikes near OECD highest 

Source: ONE NewsSupermarket shopping

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The wallet has been a bit lighter over the past 10 years if new figures are anything to go by with food prices both in New Zealand and Australia rocketing up more than 40%.
 
And experts say it's because New Zealand has only got two major supermarket chains, with a stranglehold on prices.
 
Statistics prove the cost of food in New Zealand has increased more than almost anywhere else in the 30 countries that make up the developed world.

The OECD figures show Korea had the biggest grocery price hikes over the past decade, 48%.

In New Zealand, they went up 42% and Australia was close behind on 41%, all significantly higher than the OECD average of 33%.
 
A competition expert at the University of New South Wales, Frank Zumbo, says it's not fair on consumers on both sides of the Tasman.

"We're paying more than competitor countries and the reality is consumers are being ripped off," he says.
 
He says consumers are being ripped off because both in New Zealand and Australia two supermarket heavyweights have a stranglehold on shoppers' wallets.

Zumbo says Coles and Woolworths control 80% of the Australian grocery market.

In New Zealand, Foodstuffs owns Pak 'n' Save and New World, and Progressive Enterprises runs Foodtown, Countdown and Woolworths.

Hamish Wilson of Consumer New Zealand says this does lead to a lack of competition.

"There've been some attempts by people like The Warehouse to try and break into it but it's pretty difficult," he says.

And it seems the increases are not going all the way down the food chain.

Ken Robertson of Horticulture New Zealand says vegetable and fruit growers probably have not seen any real price increases in the past 10 years.

ONE News approached both chains. Progressive would not appear on camera but says consumers are getting a fair deal. Foodstuffs agrees.
 
"It is an intensely competitive industry. We certainly don't meet with Progressive and agree price increases or nothing like that," says Tony Carter of Foodstuffs.

In Australia, the government says it's going to take its "competition blowtorch" to the industry. Until that happens in New Zealand, the advice to consumers is to shop around.

Consumer Affairs Minister Heather Roy says the Australians have their blowtorch and National and the Act Party have their regulations bonfire.

She says she wants more competition and they are working on taking out some of the red tape and compliance costs to encourage more competition for New Zealanders' dollars.

Zumbo is advocating a marketplace similar to Britain's where four or five big players share about 60% of the market.

He says letting rivals such as Aldi have a greater market share is the only way consumers will get a fair go.