Kiwis are still facing a "very expensive environment" as the latest grocery data shows another sharp rise in supply costs.
The latest Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) has found another double-digit increase with a 10 percent rise in April.
This is down from the 10.3 percent rise recorded in March but still the seventh straight double-figure increase.
The index tracks how much supermarkets are charged to buy the goods they put on the shelf.
Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told AM Early on Monday the latest double-figure price hike isn't new for Kiwis.
"With those high costs continuing to come through from suppliers onto supermarkets, that's continuing to add pressure to the price that you and I are paying when we go to fill up our shopping trolleys," Olsen told AM Early host Nicky Styris.
"When we've looked through the figures, what came through is that there's still a very broad level of pricing pressure going on in the economy."
He told AM Early there is still "real pressure" on the system, which is also seen a rise in the likes of cooking oils, eggs, cooking sauces and batteries.
Olsen says domestic factors are to blame for the continued sharp rise in costs and the pressure suppliers are facing.
"On the domestic front that's probably where the pressure really is coming on. Internationally, there are some better signs really starting to come through. Fertiliser costs, for example, are down 64 percent over the last year," Olsen said.
"That'll be supporting the primary sector more than the higher costs they were paying before. Fuel prices are also in a better place, but of course, the Government later this year will be reimposing higher fuel taxes and higher road user charges, which could see domestic transport costs for moving food about increase."
But it's not all bad news with Olsen saying there are some signs a reprieve could be on the horizon.
"We think we are starting to see some early signs that perhaps those increases to grocery supply costs are starting to be a little bit less intense. That's not to say that we expect costs to go down any time soon, but we might stop seeing them accelerate at quite the same incredible pace that we've seen them go up in recent months," he said.
"There are some early signs, but again, you're still seeing produce prices that are up 20 percent over the last year in terms of those supply costs to supermarkets. So it's still a very expensive environment out there."
Watch the full interview with Brad Olsen in the video above.
