Food in New Zealand is expensive - costing a family of four an estimated $11,500 for a year. And that's a basic estimate to meet nutritional needs, so no luxuries, or alcohol. Food is one of the biggest drains on disposable income but just one part of the equation in New Zealand, where the average household income is around $76,000.
An annual University of Otago survey on consumer food prices estimates the average cost of feeding a family of four in 2016 as $240 for basic needs, $310-320 for moderate needs, and $375 for liberal spenders. For basic food costs in 2016, the annual bill is around $11,500, moderate is $14,900, and liberal is $18,000.
Spending fluctuates around the country and the survey does not cover rural areas, instead concentrating on Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
For a moderate estimate, a man in Auckland spends $83 a week on food, a woman spends $71, it costs $88 for a teenage boy, and $72 for a teenage girl. Adolescent boys cost more to feed, as any parent will attest.
A basic food spend in Wellington is $64 for a man, $55 for a woman, $68 for a teenage boy, and $55 for a teenage girl.
Economists have struggled to conclusively explain why Kiwi prices are high, suggesting distance from markets, a small population, low incomes, as likely reasons for prices.
New Zealand has some points of difference, such as isolation, a dairy market run by a single company and a supermarket sector with just two national players.
Otago University public health nutritionist Dr Louise Mainvil works on the annual food survey and said the general trend in New Zealand and worldwide was an increase in total food prices.
There were always individual differences and exceptions, but the trend was clear, she said. Setting aside obesity in New Zealand, most Kiwis manage to get their nutritional needs, but household costs have increased, inequality is growing, the cost of renting, or buying, property has skyrocketed and a secure job is not as attainable as years gone by.
"I think we are living in an era where food is relatively abundant for countries such as ours who have access to finances to buy in food supplies. That's contributing to things such as over-consumption and issues related to weight. If we started seeing more food supply changes, if the supply goes down, the demand remains the same and the price goes up.
"I think food insecurity is going to become more of an issue."
Statistics New Zealand say food prices increased by just 0.1 per cent in the year to September.
Fruit and veg prices increased by 1.7 per cent, meat, poultry and fish decreased by 2.9 per cent, groceries fell by half a per cent and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat meals increased by two per cent.
Winter prices and seasonal variability affect the prices.
