A petition has been launched by Consumer NZ calling on the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to lower grocery prices and supermarket profits to provide affordable groceries to the nation.
The petition is called Stop The Super Profits and was launched yesterday. As of 9:30 am this morning the petition had over 47,000 signatures - nearly a quarter of the 200,000 signature goal.
They claim that major NZ Supermarkets are making an excess profit of $1 million per day due to high checkout prices. Consumer NZ wants to see regulation on wholesale food and grocery prices or the introduction of a state-owned wholesaler.
They claim that by regulating wholesale food supplies fringe retailers such as dairies, petrol stations and convenience stores would have better access to grocery products. They also suggest it would give confidence to new grocery stores to enter the market, with lower prices giving them a chance against current supermarket giants.
On the other hand, they claim a state-owned or sponsored wholesaler would provide a new level of security to the supply chain and a fair sustainable market that is not influenced by current industry players.
An open letter from Jon Duffy, Chief Executive of Consumer NZ to Minister David Clark noted that the people of NZ should not have to rely on the generosity of supermarket giants for access to food.
The petition comes as the cost of groceries continues to rise, according to Statistics NZ fruit and vegetable prices have increased 18 percent since last year. Similarly, meat, poultry and fish prices have increased 8.7 percent, and general grocery food prices increased 6.7 percent.
