The checkout: monitoring Aussie meals costs

For a lot of a long time, Australian customers have benefitted from comparatively subdued progress in meals costs – notably when put next with housing, well being and schooling payments. Nevertheless, Australian meals payments have elevated by greater than many different developed international locations due to the nation’s standing as a significant meals exporter to booming Asian economies.

“What’s driving the sudden improve in meals costs and will customers count on larger meals costs of their weekly store wanting ahead?”

This exposes Australian meals costs to worldwide costs extra typically than realised. So whereas meals insecurity is unlikely to play the identical function in Australia as in different meals importing international locations, world insecurity will stream on to costs on grocery store cabinets down beneath.

Lengthy-term tendencies

Australian meals and beverage costs have risen a median of 4.3 per cent within the final yr and a pair of.8 per cent within the final quarter alone. However though customers are confronted with the rise in meals costs for necessities like milk and bread, longer-term tendencies present meals costs have remained comparatively subdued in comparison with different family prices.

So what’s driving the sudden improve in meals costs and will customers count on larger meals costs of their weekly store wanting ahead?

Australian meals costs have benefitted from a few years of technological advances in agriculture. Home meals costs have remained comparatively low as farmers develop into extra environment friendly, extra productive and embrace new applied sciences.

Over the previous 20 years, meals costs have risen by 62 per cent. Compared, the price of housing has risen 98 per cent and well being and schooling are each up 144 per cent. Whereas latest massive will increase in retail meals prices might have come as a shock to many customers, they’re constructed off the again of comparatively low costs.