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THREE KEY FACTS 

• A study this year found New Zealand supermarkets were the most expensive for kitchen staples compared with the UK, Ireland and Australia. 
• Data showed a net migration loss of 54,700 New Zealand citizens in the September 2024 year: it’s estimated over half of these departures went to Australia. 
• A Kiwi man has gone viral on TikTok this week for candidly sharing his response to the differences in prices in Australia. 

A man who relocated his family from New Zealand to Australia has admitted he “bawled [his] eyes out” after discovering how much cheaper the food and produce were compared with the prices in Aotearoa. 

Taking to TikTok last weekend, @kingpeekay, who goes by the screenname King PK, candidly spoke of the emotional upheaval he experienced after completing his first grocery shop in Sydney. 

“Day one in Australia and I’ve been so overwhelmed. I cried after I did the food shopping ... I bawled my eyes out,” he said in a video that has since been viewed almost 160,000 times. 

He explained how he had often feared he wouldn’t be able to feed his family at home in Aotearoa, citing the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. 

According to data released by Stats NZ last month, prices for grocery food have risen on an annual basis, driven by higher costs for olive oil, butter, and standard 2-litre milk. The annual rise was 2.5%, while fruit prices have risen by 8% over the past two years. 

“In New Zealand there were moments when we thought we weren’t going to eat. If I’m being honest, I remember when my son would go and look for snacks in the cupboard and he’d be like, ‘Daddy, there’s nothing to eat, there’s no snacks', and I would get angry,” PK admitted in the video. 

“Today I realised [I didn’t get angry] because he was hungry, or there [were] no snacks, it was because I felt that I wasn’t able to provide.” 

PK said he and his wife had gone to the discount grocery chain Aldi for their first family shop in Sydney and were shocked by the prices of kitchen staples such as eggs and noodles. 

“I went shopping at Aldi’s today and a five-pack of Maggi noodles was [AU]$1.69 (NZ$1.86). A whole uncooked chicken was $4.99 (NZ$5.50). Eggs were $4 (NZ$4.40) ... the expensive eggs were $5.50 (NZ$6.07). It was even at the point my wife and I, we were speechless after we left that place. 

“I honestly reckon the amount of shopping for food and stuff that we did, probably would’ve equalled $1000 in New Zealand. That’s not to say Australia’s better – I cried because I struggled in New Zealand, and I was doing all right by everybody’s standards. 

“But after I did my shopping today, I was like, ‘Man, I feel for people over there [in New Zealand]’. It’s crazy to think that’s just normal. We were buzzing out because chicken nuggets are [AU]$2.50 (NZ$2.76) a pack – that’s crazy, it’s crazy living here. It’s only day one.” 

Food prices in New Zealand increased 1.2% in the 12 months to October, maintaining the same increase as the 12 months to September 2024. Photo / 123rf 

His video struck a chord with TikTok users on both sides of the ditch. 

Some people in the comments of PK’s video argued food prices were also high in Australia, with one declaring: “NZ must be hella expensive because Aussie grocery prices are through the roof.” 

“Are you shopping in an alternate universe? Because I live in Melbourne, Australia and I purchased the 1kg chicken nuggets by Steggles and on special it’s [AU]$10 a bag,” a third hit back, while a fourth added: “I went for holiday in Melbourne and it was just as expensive ... I’m glad to be in NZ.” 

One wrote: “I’m happy for you but it’s pretty sad that you think our Aussie prices are cheap. I think most Aussies would say they are crazy high.” 

Others agreed with PK and believed groceries were generally more affordable across the ditch, with one writing: “What I missed about Aussie – the cheap groceries.” 

“I’m in NZ on holiday and the price of food is outrageous, $17.50 for a quarter watermelon. Blueberries $7 a punnet. But alcohol and junk food is cheap,” one user weighed in. 

In September, the ABC reported that according to Choice research, a basket of Aldi groceries was AU$18 cheaper when compared with the same items sold at Coles and Woolworths, Australia’s two largest supermarket retailers. 

Aldi does not display most of its prices online. In November, the supermarket chain’s managing director of national buying admitted the retailer’s outdated IT infrastructure was largely to blame for its inability to display price offerings. 

At the time of writing, an Aldi limited-time special was 500g of fresh Tasmanian salmon fillets for AU$18.99, or AU$37.98 (NZ$41.91) per kilogram. At Woolworths New Zealand, a kilogram of salmon fillets would set you back between $44.50 and $59, while salmon fillets at New World were $44.69/kg. 

Farmdale Full Cream UHT Milk (1 litre) at Aldi was AU$1.59 (NZ$1.75); Woolworths Standard UHT Milk (1 litre) was $2.19, or Meadow Fresh Farmhouse Full Cream Milk was $3.30 a litre. However, Pams Standard UHT Milk (1 litre) at Pak’nSave was $1.99. 

The Australian grocery market is dominated by four main players: Woolworths, Coles, ALDI and Metcash (IGA). These retailers control more than 80% of the market, while Woolworths and Coles alone hold about 65%. 

New Zealand’s grocery sector has been criticised for lack of competition. There are two key players in the industry: Foodstuffs (which owns New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square) and Australia’s Woolworths, formerly branded as Countdown. This year the Commerce Commission investigated the duopoly, finding no meaningful improvement in competition and increased retail margins. 

Issued in September, the commission’s first annual grocery report noted New Zealanders were paying higher prices, were confused by specials and weren’t benefiting enough from loyalty schemes. In the year to June 2023, the average household was spending $214 a week on groceries, or about 13% of their total weekly budget, it said. 

A study this year also determined a grocery shop in Australia, at least for supermarket staples, was cheaper than in New Zealand. 

Australian researchers from Edith Cowan University compared the prices of common grocery items – fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, chocolate, meat, bread, coffee and some toiletries – in leading supermarkets in Australia, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. 

The results, released in September, found New Zealand was the most expensive, with the cost ranging from $379-$454. Australia came in third at $359-$368. The UK had the lowest prices, with the cost of the groceries between $314-$329. 

When adjusting for wages, the UK was still the cheapest and New Zealand remained the most expensive, although Ireland and Australia switched places. 

Associate Professor Flavio Macau said at the time there were several reasons groceries were more expensive in New Zealand, including its isolation, relative exclusion from main global supply chain corridors, small population and heavy reliance on imports. 

The comparison looked at the two largest supermarkets in each country: in New Zealand that meant Pak’n’Save and Woolworths, which have a 70% share of the market, and Coles and Woolworths in Australia. 

Macau said when compared with their overseas counterparts, New Zealand supermarkets were underperforming. 

“In New Zealand, it pays even more to do your homework and actively compare prices before shopping. Potentially, you need to build even more bridges between local producers and consumers as an important tool to fight the cost-of-living crisis.”