What food or drink price rises have you noticed recently?

You are right that our markets do suffer from lack of competition in some cases but that doesn’t explain everything. Throwing generalisations at a particular problem doesn’t help much unless you show that the generalisation applies to that problem. Is there market concentration in the bread business? How specifically would more regulation deal with this price rise?

If you have some facts that show us why the price of ALDI multigrain sourdough has gone up so quickly please tell us about them. I can’t see how a vote for general exploitation nor that cartoon are helping anybody understand the example given by Jon.

2 Likes

Thanks Syncretic for your usual analytical input. Unfortunately, generalisations abound in most walks of life (perhaps with the exceptions of scientific research involving pure maths and statistical analysis) because it is time-consuming to collate and analyse 1000’s of individual experiences, so I offer no apology for making same.

The topic is “What food or drink price rises have you noticed recently?” and contributor Jon01 offered his experience with milk and bread. Not being a baker, I’ll decline your invitation to answer questions regarding the bread market and its possible concentration and/or lack of competitiveness. However, I will attempt to explain the implication of the cartoon since you seemed to have somehow misunderstood it. The consumer – which is whom this forum is supposed to help – often has little redress when confronted by the rich and privileged. (Another generalisation -oh dear!) Often individual consumers feel aggrieved and helpless when faced with traders ignoring complaints about returning shoddy or failed products. And while the ACCC and the various Ombuds-persons can help in some cases, resolution does take time, hence the existence of alternative support through this forum.

1 Like

Perhaps some of us who comment on this site take a balanced view of issues. I am happy to be considered one of those alongside @syncretic.

The biggest load of BS ever is ‘the customer is always right’.

The real gist of the quote is ‘assume the customer is right until it is plainly clear that he/she is wrong’ Field.

1 Like

I’ve frequently used Menulog to get meals from local businesses, and have been patronising a local pub for my chicken schnitzel… But they have increased the menu price from $26.50 (which was up from $12 pre-covid) to $32.50. I was outraged. Perhaps there are costs I know nothing of but that is one hell of a jump. Guess I’ll be making my own, but it doesnt solve the “dont feel like cooking” thing.

3 Likes

Yes they do. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have a genuine grievance though. In the example case of the bread price increase the assumption was that it must be due to greed and exploitation. I haven’t expressed a view as there are no facts available to help us decide. In your view if I am a supporter of consumer rights I ought to support the consumer no matter what. I disagree.

2 Likes

Very little price rise in the things we buy (we don’t buy processed, packaged much), but was quite shocked at the latest rise in butter. We buy Black & Gold (no other butter for sale where we shop) 500g.

It slowly moved from $4.85 in 2021 to $5.55 in May 2022, by Jan 2023 it was $5.95, then $6.29 in Mar 2023. On the docket it is described as Black & Gold Aus Butter, but it is made in NZ. I checked at our local, tiny supermarket and they are selling it for $9.85! Makes the hour trip to the next town economical. I think the idea of butter at $6 was a bit of a shocker for me. I keep all my dockets.

2 Likes

This is an anecdotal report but seems as close to documenting the rising costs of a grocery shop as any I have read.

2 Likes

Occasional buyer of Primo Cocktail Frankferts 1kg $5.99. I decant these into boxes for the freezer, so I know there are 33 in each pack. The last two purchases have been short one - that is 32 cocktail franks and more water. The price has not changed; I checked from May 2022 to Mar 2023 $5.99. A 3% increase in price, considering the fluid goes down the drain.

2 Likes

Now $2.99. Same size.

Our bread (900g multi grain unsliced) was $3.90 for about 5 years, then $4 (we were getting it delivered to a shop closer to home), now a year later $4.40. This is mainly because the Baker is elderly and needing to scale back for health reasons and has hired two additional staff to help him. They said ingredients had gone up too.

This is much less than the price rises on the Branded breads in the same tiny supermarket.

1 Like

Follow up

In 09.22 I wrote about the price rise of Aldi’s 1 litre rice milk from $1.59 to $1.99, a healthy 25% jump. My added - even bigger - concern was the absence of a skerrick of calcium in the product. All other brands of rice milk that I have bought from Coles, Woolies, health food stores etc contained SOME Ca. but Aldi’s product contained zero.

When I complained to Aldi I was told that the ingredients (reasons for their absence or presence) is “proprietary” and I cannot be told. I questioned the script reader: “what exactly is proprietary about a product that is little more than flavoured water”? No coherent response was received.

So of course I stopped buying Aldi’s coloured water.

Fast forward 18 mths. Lo and behold, today (03MAR24) at Aldi I checked out the price, still $1.99 per litre and the packaging (colour and style) is the same BUT for a small change: on the top right of the carton is a comment “New & Improved”.

I glanced at the ingredients to determine what exactly is “new” or “improved” and what-da-ya-know? The product now comes with a side of Ca. Allegedly 100 mg per 100 ml, which seems line ball with other brands of rice milk.

In the last year I’ve stuck to Woolworths “Certified Organic Rice Milk”, selling for $1.65 per litre. I see no impetus to return to Aldi given its price premium 20% (i.e. $0.34 per litre) when compared to Woolworths product.

What is interesting is that when comparing the Woolies and Aldi products, the listed ingredients are identical and the stated quantities of those ingredients in 9 out of the 10 line items are also identical. To a layman like me, it seems both retailers share the same supplier.

2 Likes

In this current climate everything has gone up in price