The pace of supplier cost increases to Foodstuffs supermarkets in February was in line with last month, with the Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showing an average 2.3 percent increase in supplier charges in February 2026 compared with a year earlier.
Infometrics Chief Executive and Principal Economist Brad Olsen said February’s increase was in line with January’s result, even with a significantly greater number of items experiencing cost increases.
Those two trends together indicate that supplier cost pressures aren’t necessarily accelerating across the board, but that specific groups of items are facing more direct cost pressures at present.
“Protein cost rises remain high, and there has been further pressure across fresh produce costs in recent months, despite a summer growing season that has seen good value in various crops. Some grocery items have seen larger increases, including a number of household staples," said Olsen.
Supplier costs rose across all but one department in February compared with the previous year. Annual average produce department costs rose 2.9 percent pa, the fastest in two years, with notable increases in cucumber and mandarin costs recently.
Continued strong demand for protein, relative to supply, kept butchery and seafood department costs higher, while lower dairy prices saw chilled food department cost gains ease back slightly.
Grocery department costs rose 2.3 percent pa, with higher costs for bread, chips, chocolate, and noodles.
Month on month, just under 3,700 products increased in cost from January to February 2026, raising the 12-month average increase to just over 3,000 items per month for the first time since mid-2024.
Olsen added that although part of February’s higher number follows two lower months during the summer moratorium, the trend number of cost increases has been slowly but steadily rising, with more butchery, grocery department, and produce item increases recorded recently.
“Along with international freight costs and logistics challenges, higher costs stemming from the Middle East conflict are hitting the economy, including production, processing and transport costs, raising concerns about further cost gains going forward."
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