While prices across all grocery product types had increased, the most considerable hikes were in dairy products (32 per cent) and bread and cereal items (28 per cent).
Meat and seafood had increased by a fifth, while the price of fruit and vegetables had increased by 19 per cent between the March 2019 quarter to the June 2024 quarter.
The findings were released in the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s interim report into the supermarket sector and whether supermarket giants were dudding suppliers and ripping off customers due to a lack of competition.
The report found many consumers were facing “excessive” prices, with many shoppers buying less food and focusing on cheaper products in order to stay within their budgets.
Shoppers were also eating less frequent and smaller meals, and changing their habit by “increasingly” comparing online prices before going in-store, however faced “real difficulties” with comparing prices.
