Opinion: ACCC supermarket inquiry a kick in the teeth

It’s no wonder Aussies are being driven to cheap fast food after seeing the consumer watchdog’s inquiry into supermarket prices, Julie Cross writes.

So, the consumer watchdog has revealed what shoppers already know. The cost of food has shot up and the supermarkets are making a stack. But apparently there’s nothing to see here.

While grocery prices have soared by almost a quarter, other goods and services have gone up by 22 per cent, according to a year-long investigation by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, which found no price gouging.

But it did find that Coles, Woolies and third-ranked player Aldi are some of the most profitable supermarkets in the world. They’re doing very well, thank you very much.

During a cost of living crisis when Aussies are struggling to put food on the table it feels like a kick in the teeth.

Grocery prices have soared by almost a quarter. Picture: iStock

Among the 441 page report, I was surprised to see just how much profit the supermarkets make on everyday items, like the humble spud, for example.

The product margin on potatoes is 43 per cent. That $7 bag of potatoes now makes sense.

They also make 38 per cent on cucumbers, 35 per cent on apples and 33 per cent on bananas (that’s if you can find any decent ones to buy).

No wonder people are being driven towards cheap junk food.

One of the recommendations by the watchdog is for supermarkets to make prices clearer for consumers so they can better compare products.

Thank God. That is one of my pet hates. I am someone who likes to study the prices and the cost per item by weight. Without fail, they only mark up some of them with that information, so you can never do a fair comparison. I have on occasion got my phone out to do the calculations. But who has time to do that?

You really shouldn’t be Sherlock Holmes to get through the weekly shop, says Julie Cross.

While I’m at it, the smaller supermarkets are just as bad. The special offers at Harris Farm are a joke. They go like this: Two punnets of raspberries for $9, or one for $4.50. Righto, I’m not falling for that one, but I am sure others do.

Like IGA, which is just as pricey, you have to keep an eye on what you’re actually charged. I regularly have to ask for a refund, when their advertised prices don’t always correspond with the receipt.

And, while I’m at it, Woolies shouldn’t be able to advertise itself as the “Fresh Food People”, when on nearly every occasion I go in there, what I need is out of stock. Aldi was just as bad the last time I went there too.

Let’s not start on the self-checkout where you inevitably have to pause halfway and ask for help.

You really shouldn’t have to be Archimedes or Sherlock Holmes to get through the weekly shop. But sometimes, it feels like it.

Originally published as Opinion: ACCC supermarket inquiry a kick in the teeth