Genesis

Recently been to the UK. Food shopping is so cheap in comparison to NZ. The choice is sooooooooo huge and the quality excellent. There are far less crap ingredients in UK food too. Problem is lack of competition in NZ for the 3/4 food suppliers. I am sure they have a cartel thingy going on in NZ. By contrast the many big food chains in the UK are in a great price war and the main winner is the consumer. Example 350g of top quality smoked salmon in UK is $8..yes eight dollars..or 4 pounds. 100g of the same but never as nice is $8 in NZ!!!!!!!!! What with the crap rate and a shocker on the supermarket front awaiting new arrivals it is a wonder anyone is prepared to move to NZ just now. I was back in the UK also in 2007 having moved out of the UK in 2005. The price difference than was no way as big as it is now between UK and NZ shopping trollies.

Caveat emptor!! UK is still madly over crowded, rubbish and dog shit EVERYWHERE..even in pretty Devon villages. Would still not return to England as I still feel that inspite of being ripped off every time I go shopping in NZ it affords us a higher quality life. And of course house prices are an issue too in the UK. The value of our capacious detatched shed would get us a well appointed double garage in the UK. Inspite of the UK housing market tumbling houses here are still very, very expensive.

Stormer999

Good post G glad to hear NZ is still an attraction. As regards to food look at this link...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12043359

it is cheap in price in £ notes but who really pays........

BEVS

Same here mate , just not cheap.

lisamct

The huge difference in food costs here is one of the biggest shocks Ive had since coming here.
I only ever ate organic free range meet/dairy products in the UK and simply cant afford to do that here, the cost, if you can find organic free range stuff to start with, is ridiculous.
I hate shopping here as I know I'll have to buy farmed chicken and non free range/organic milk etc as I cant afford or cant find anything else.

I dont really eat red meat which probably doesnt help as I'm told its pretty cheap but the lack of choice and quality has really surprised me. I'm yet to find the super tasty fruit etc that I keep hearing about.
I buy my fruit from the local market but still find it pretty tasteless and bland compared to the fruit I'm used to in the UK. maybe its the organic vs. non organic thing..who knows!

I admit I'm rubbish at shopping around although I do use the local market for fruit/veg but I cant seem to get my shopping bill to be any less than 50% more than it was in the UK and thats buying inferior products and looking for all the offers. Guess its just something I have to get used to if I want to keep living here.

Stormer999

The UK with 65 million mouths to feed can afford to milk pastures far afield with lower cost overheads...Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the methods for production and keeping edible during the long journey to the supermarket shelves leaves a lot to be desired. Hence if tasty veg and fruit is the order of the day then places like Waitrose are where to shop......but the prices are a bit different from Asda....

dannigirl

Good points Genesis, I think it has always been acknowledged that food prices are more expensive in NZ, both like for like and in terms of percentage of wages, but it is even more concerning given the exchange rate for people moving over.

There is a new series of "wanted down under" beginning on Monday in UK (not sure if they feature NZ this series). Nicki Waterman was on BBC recently stating that the exchange rate was crucial, finally acknowledging that you can no longer go over to Aus or NZ and buy a huge house etc like you used to be able to in the good old days.

I have always thought that my money goes further in the UK in terms of like for like price, but it is definitely increasing to favour the UK. EG I can buy 2 bottles of 500ml coke for £1.40 at a Tesco Express (so not even the lowest price you could find), in NZ 600ml is $3.06 at Woolworths. Things do feel more expensive here now, but I am dreading returning to NZ and paying NZ prices

Having said that there are layers or a 'class system' to food here, ranging from Iceland to Waitrose. I refuse to buy my fruit and veg and Tesco or Asda - it's minging and usually looks old and battered. I can't afford to shop at Waitrose but do shop with Ocado where if I watch what I buy it usually ends up the same price as a full shop at Sainsburys.

Lisamct - I just looked at organic milk $6.95 for 2L That is outrageous!!

bunnyphobia

On a related note, I think I've been most surprised to find that food standards in terms of animal life/death quality are so different. In my local countdown it took me about 6 goes to find a box of eggs that weren't from cage hens - rather than free range (or better) being the majority, as in the UK, it seems that attitudes in NZ are a few years behind.

Same goes for the pig pen issue, and the dubious 'animal health' stickers that don't stand for much (unless they're SPCA).

karron

plenty of people seem to have been found out ripping people off in the uk by claiming to be organic/free range etc.

Robbie2010

In NZ you buy when its cheap! ... Last week 1.5 litre coca cola & fanta etc = 99cents, I got a trolly full.

Robbo25

Hey Genesis, do you think that the choice/prices are highlighted by being in the regions? The competition up here in JAFA land seems reasonable in terms of produce, however the seasonal thing still applies.

Also, don't forget the retailers are competing for a dwindling number of people in work in the UK with the jobless only going to get worse and lower wages being paid out.

janek

You really have to be on the ground in the supermarkets here to get a real feel of it though, scanning Woolworths on the internet is misleading, I don't drink Coke but I stocked up on the 1.5 ltre range of Shweppes drinks last week at Countdown; 95 cents a bottle, I've been back here 6 years now but I didn't find that too bad a price, rump steak $10.95 kg, might have been Australian though for that price. Buying on 'special' is the name of the game here, gone are the days of swanning around Asdas and throwing anything and everything in a cart, what a mindless existence that was;
I find the fruit and veg here from the local market to be of excellent quality and flavour [ i couldn't care less about the shape, it does not affect the taste] however I did buy apples from the USA in Countdown last week and they were completely without flavour, horrible and expensive of course, in my book the further it travels the more tasteless it becomes.

I love that term 'class system of food,' we have it here a bit too but only at the lower class end!! NZ has no equivalent to Tesco 'finest' yet! How pretentious.

crap coffee

been to NW this thursday for the first time since 23 rd of Dec! well stayed home for 6 days in a row... anyway.. I could find NZ Kiwis at NW & Organic shop at that time, but when I went to shopping this Thursday, could only find USA Kiwis...at NW. so didn't bother buying them. coz they looked yuk, tasless and horrible. and expensive. WHY bother? so bought pineapple instead. $ 2.89 each. the price - its not actually too bad though... think it would be cheaper/a great idea if I could eat NZ apples but I can't (eat apples). Now its time to go and get Vitamin C tablets...

Robbie2010

Where are you shopping? ... Today at local supermarket organic milk 2L for $4.

crap coffee

$4.95 here in Welly Metro NW. and $ 5. 50 (at Wakefied NW) or something - don't quite remember tho.

lisamct

$3.77 for 1.13lts here in Countdown.