In December 2022, Foodstuffs cooperative members held grocery prices 1.5 percent lower than inflation and 2.4 percent below supplier cost increases.
“There’s still plenty of uncertainty about how strong the economic headwinds will be this year, but our co-operatives are continuing our inflation fight for customers at the checkout. Most are predicting that 2023 will be tougher for households, but we’ll be looking towards the second quarter of this year to see whether a clearer picture has emerged,” said Chris Quin, Foodstuffs NZ Managing Director.
“The first quarter will be important for getting the lay of the land, with a number of big decisions from the Reserve Bank and data coming out from the US and Europe, which will give us a better idea of where inflation is sitting.
“Domestically, input cost pressures are continuing for suppliers who are facing higher costs to grow, pick and pack produce for market, with adverse weather events still the wild card this year. It’s been a pretty tough summer so far for growing produce and it’s going to be a couple of weeks before the full impact of Cyclone Hale is known.
“We’ve had to import more fresh produce than in previous years because we couldn’t buy it here in New Zealand, it just hasn’t been available locally.
“Despite the ongoing challenges, there was still some good value to be had for customers over the Christmas trading period, including seasonal produce like telegraph cucumbers, lettuce and broccoli.
“Overall, we’ve been hearing a lot about global commodity prices coming off their peak while still at historical highs, and inflation pressures are easing in both the US and in the UK. The question is whether inflation has peaked or whether there’s still some way to go.
“International fuel prices and shipping costs are also moderating, but that relief is yet to be felt here since it takes longer for those changes to flow through to us in New Zealand.
“Other factors impacting food prices include the tight labour market, increasing wages, the weaker NZ dollar, increasing fertiliser costs for suppliers, and the upcoming end to the fuel subsidies, but that picture might change rapidly this year.
“Given the usual price change moratorium over the holiday period and the resulting lower volume of price changes, it’s still not clear whether cost pressures have started easing for suppliers and how this will impact food prices into 2023.
“Our co-operatives will stay laser-focused on helping customers fight inflation and find value within their household budgets this year while we wait and see what’s in store for 2023.”
