Prices now cheaper here than the UK
Kiwi expats love to grumble about how much cheaper it is to fill a trolley in the United Kingdom but lately the price differences have become much less stark and, in the case of some favourite foods, New Zealand now offers a better deal.
Until recently, the UK had relatively low food prices, thanks to fierce competition in the grocery sector, easy access to European produce, and government subsidies paid to farmers.
But inflation has skyrocketed post-Brexit, pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Food prices rose almost 10% in the 12 months to June and experts have warned the UK’s ‘‘golden era’’ of cheap food is over.
Butter, the subject of much complaining by Kiwi shoppers in recent months, has led the upwards charge in the UK. It is now cheaper in New Zealand.
Price analysis on trolley.co. uk shows the cheapest 500g block of butter available to UK shoppers last Wednesday was £3.50 (NZ$6.76) and the most expensive was £4.75 ($9.17).
Local grocery price comparison site Grocer (grocer.nz) shows Tararua butter from The Warehouse (New Zealand’s cheapest block at $4.90, or $4 for Market Club members) was a steal in comparison.
The price of milk in the UK rose 22% over the past year but is still significantly lower than in New Zealand. A two-litre bottle of blue top cost £1.28 ($2.47) at Aldi, when
Countdown’s own brand standard milk was New Zealand’s cheapest at $3.84 a bottle.
UK cheese prices also increased – by 59% – over the same period but, like milk, remains much cheaper for Britons.
A 900g block of mature cheddar was just £3.99 ($8.33 a kilo) from Sainsbury’s.
The cheapest kilo of tasty cheese in New Zealand, made by Meadow Fresh, was almost twice that price at $15.99 from Pak’nSave.
Although shoppers here were paying more for milk and cheese, local prices for some red meat were much lower.
The cheapest British beef rump steak was £17.30 (NZ$33.38) a kilo from Asda, compared to $14.49 at Pak’nSave, which also had a much better deal on lamb. Leg roasts were $16.99 a kilo, versus £10.99 ($21.20) in the UK.
Lean beef mince (5% fat), however, was just £5.78 ($11.75) a kilo from Aldi, compared to $16.99 a kilo for Super Value’s premium mince.
Justin King, former head of Sainsbury’s, told The Guardian the ‘‘golden era’’ of low food prices was over and shoppers now faced hard choices over how to spend their money.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents the major supermarkets, said fierce competition among supermarkets had so far limited price rises on essential products, but pressures in the food industry ‘‘do not look to be easing anytime soon’’.