Countdown price freeze ‘admission’ of role in food crisis

Countdown’s announcement it’s going to freeze the value of over 500 objects this winter has been gratefully obtained by some, however closely criticised by others.

From Monday, clients will discover the value on staples corresponding to tinned tomatoes, butter, cheese, sugar, flour will not go up regardless of what occurs with inflation over the winter months.

READ MORE: Countdown to freeze price of over 500 essentials for winter

The transfer comes amid a price of dwelling disaster and with inflation at 6.9%, its highest rate since 1990.

Countdown’s managing director Spencer Sonn stated it was freezing costs regardless of having almost 1000 requests within the final 10 months from its suppliers to extend prices because of the higher fuel, raw material and freight costs they are facing.

Nevertheless, few of the five hundred objects have been recent fruit and greens, and lots of the objects have been Countdown’s personal homebrand merchandise.

Client NZ chief govt Jon Duffy had combined emotions in regards to the worth freeze.

“If shoppers are spending much less on the checkout for merchandise over the subsequent three months whereas this worth freeze is in place then that’s excellent news as a result of shoppers have been doing it robust with the value will increase they’ve been enduring,” Duffy stated.

However Duffy stated that the value freeze was “basically an admission” from Countdown that that they had performed a job in the price of dwelling disaster.

“Meals costs have gotten to a degree the place they should take this drastic motion as a enterprise to cut back their very own income. That implies to me that income are too excessive and we now have a Commerce Commission market study that confirmed supermarkets are making greater than $1 million a day in extra income.”

He additionally questioned Sonn’s rationalization that costs had risen solely due to increased gas costs, freight and uncooked materials prices.

“All these components they’ve raised, transport prices, inflation, these are completely all components,” Duffy stated.

“However equally amongst these components are the degrees of income the supermarkets are extracting from New Zealanders. So you possibly can’t level your finger at one set of causes and ignore essentially the most inconvenient cause.”

READ MORE: David Clark takes aim at supermarkets as food prices rise

Among the many 500 merchandise have been 20 alcohol merchandise, seven salmon merchandise, three completely different pestos and even olives. The one greens receiving worth freezes have been onions, carrots and pumpkin.

“If Countdown is actually excited about serving to low-income New Zealanders with the staples that they should placed on the desk to maintain their household fed, salmon and olives usually are not normally on the purchasing checklist for individuals in these conditions,” Duffy stated.

In Auckland, some buyers informed 1News the value freeze was “nice information”.

“There’s loads of whānau on the market who can’t afford the price of dwelling immediately, so if Countdown are going to do this I actually help it,” one girl stated.

She stated in latest months she had been compelled to keep away from shopping for cheese and greens as costs “skyrocketed”.

READ MORE: Shopper finds ordering groceries from Aus cheaper than NZ supermarket

“Lettuce is simply horrendous…There’s loads of objects on the grocery store which are simply approach too costly to even take into consideration shopping for.”

Nevertheless, not all have been supportive, others saying the costs shouldn’t simply freeze, however drop.

“It’s too pricey, they need to drop the value,” one man stated.

“That’s why I don’t store at Countdown, I store at Pak’nSave.”

Countdown informed 1News most fruit and greens, meat and dairy merchandise have been topic to seasonal situations and unstable market costs and subsequently have been too troublesome to freeze their costs.

“If we will add extra fruit and veges over the subsequent few months, we’ll,” a Countdown spokesperson stated.