Blame our suppliers for high prices, not us: Coles and Woolies

Michael Read and Carrie LaFrenz

Oct 11, 2024 – 7.05pm

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Coles and Woolworths have shifted the blame for rising grocery prices onto their large multinational suppliers, with the duopoly saying they have been inundated over the past year with requests to increase the price of thousands of products by more than 10 per cent.

The under-fire supermarket giants appeared before the Senate’s cost of living committee on Friday, the latest in a series of political hearings scrutinising the cause of the 18 per cent increase in grocery prices over the past three years.

Michael Read is the Financial Review's economics correspondent, reporting from the federal press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia and at UBS.

Carrie LaFrenz is a senior journalist covering retail/consumer goods. She previously covered healthcare/biotech. Carrie has won multiple awards for her journalism including financial journalist of the year from The National Press Club.