A third supermarket chain could be healthy competition New Zealand needs to lower food prices, says Newsroom editor Bernard Hickey.
The difference between what food costs here and in Australia has been hotly debated lately, with arguments going both ways.
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Mr Hickey told The AM Show Kiwis are "certainly being charged more than Australians".
"That's because we've only really got two supermarket groups... It's Pak'nSave vs Countdown and they compete reasonably well, but not as well as in Australia where they're got three.
"You don't see the same cut-throat competition here."
However Mr Hickey says it would be difficult to get a third supermarket chain here, and it is unlikely.
"You really need scale. You need a big population group all in one place.
"In Australia you've got Sydney and Melbourne, whereas in New Zealand we're a long, straggly country."
Mr Hickey says it's something the Government "perhaps could look at".
Newshub.
