Labour’s supermarket stupidity

Labour announced:

New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly needs to do some serious explaining as to why their fruit and vegetables are so pricey, Labour’s Consumer Rights spokesperson Carol Beaumont says.

“An Otago University report shows Kiwi households are likely to be spending upwards of $2500 a year more on their fruit and veges if they buy them from a supermarket rather than their local market.

“Given ever increasing power prices and rising interest rates, there are not too many families that wouldn’t find an extra $49 a week in their pocket helpful.

“Unfortunately not everyone has access to a market, and the supermarkets know that.

“It’s past time for some transparency around pricing.

“Under this Government it seems the rewards are concentrated at the top. Lower down the food chain everyone else appears to be getting a raw deal.

“Supermarkets don’t have to wait for the Commerce Commission’s report to change their behaviour.

“They could start now – by bringing their fruit and vegetable prices into line with local sellers.”

The reader who e-mailed this to me comments:

The stupid, it hurts! 

Seriously, oh my god! Are they really that dumb? Do they really think that a person selling goods at a farmers market has the same costs as a supermarket? 

Supermarkets have massive costs. advertising, power, wages for 1000’s of staff, time and a half, days in lieu, sick leave, stat days, holiday pay, … some of which gardeners have, but at a much smaller scale.

Small time and medium gardeners, some of which will not even have any staff, selling goods at markets will not have anywhere near the costs of a large supermarket, and lets face it, i’m guessing that half of them probably don’t even pay tax on the cash they get for their goods, let alone pay any GST. 

I give up, they really are that stupid. That 30% of the New Zealand public cant also see that astounds me even more.

Yes they are that stupid, or hoping enough NZers are.

As it happens fruit and vege prices are just 3.4% higher in February 2014 than five years ago in February 2009. That’s an average of just 0.7% a year.

And how much did fruit and vege prices rise from February 2006 to February 2009. A whopping 29.6% or 9.9% a year!!!