New Zealanders may be overestimating food inflation

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-17 09:02

New Zealand

PHOTO: Henrique Sosa/Unsplash

New research has found that years of rapidly increasing food prices following the COVID-19 pandemic may have distorted how New Zealanders perceive the cost of food. In February 2025, researchers asked a nationally representative group of Kiwis about how much they thought the cost of food had changed over the last 12 months. On average, respondents thought food prices had gone up by 18%. However, official statistics put the increase at just 3% over that time period. The researchers say this misalignment is concerning, as it may influence what people eat and how much they spend on food, with potential consequences for health and wellbeing.

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Research Wiley, Web page

Journal/
conference: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of the Sunshine Coast, Lincoln University

Funder: This work was supported by the Lincoln University Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce Seed Funds and Lincoln University Centre of Excellence in Transformative Agribusiness.

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