The pace of supplier cost increases for Foodstuffs supermarkets remained unchanged in September from the previous two months.
Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showed an average 1.9 percent increase in what suppliers charged in September 2026 compared with a year earlier.
“The September GSCI increase marked the third month in a row of unchanged pace, following the same 1.9 percent pa lift in both August and July. A larger number of cost increases are still occurring, but these increases are still of a more moderate rate - a consistent trend in recent months," said Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen.
“More sustained cost pressures remain for proteins given higher global demand and constrained global supply, alongside higher on-farm and fuel costs which are slowly filtering into the figures.”
Recent increases in fuel and plastics prices are raising input costs again, compounded by higher imported cost pressures due to the lower currency (at a 17-year low), and contributing to recent increases.
Cost trends remain uncertain given the volatile geopolitical outlook, but suppliers' higher global input costs are likely to become clearer towards the end of 2026.
Supplier costs rose across all departments in September compared with the previous year.
Seafood cost increases remain elevated, driven by higher costs for fresh fish fillets. Frozen item costs rose 2.1 percent pa in September, driven by higher frozen chicken and vegetable costs.
Higher costs for coffee, canned tuna, chips, and eggs also saw grocery department costs up 2.3 percent pa on average. Produce cost pressures were mixed, with higher potato but lower tomato costs, although higher fuel prices are likely to influence future produce costs.
Month on month, just over 4,000 products increased in cost from August to September, continuing an elevated trend in the number of increases but down from the larger volumes in June and August.
Olsen added that the number of increases rose notably across the seafood, butchery, and grocery departments in September. The produce department saw fewer increases than a year ago, but also far fewer seasonal cost reductions, likely because on-farm input costs remain high.
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