Shoppers in west Auckland say increasing meat prices shook up their grocery lists and bills. (file photo) Photo: 123RF
A central Auckland butcher says people are cooking differently to make meat go further as food prices hit a 13-year high.
Fruit and vegetables rose by 16 percent and meat, poultry and fish by 6.7 percent compared to the same time last year, according to Stats NZ figures.
Ellerslie Meats owner-operator Ian Groves, who has been a butcher for 44 years, said he had never seen anything like the prices his customers were currently paying.
"When I had a look back at [the price of] beef five years ago, we were paying $6.20 kilo on a carcass of beef. Now we're paying $8.40," Groves said.
Ellerslie Meats owner-operator Ian Groves. Photo: RNZ / Leonard Powell
"By the time you add the GST into that and the weight loss when you bone everything, you're probably looking at about $13.00 cost per kilo on a side of beef," he said.
"Everything has just gone up from that. Lambs have doubled in price in the last five years. There's not really anything very cheap these days."
Buying habits had changed, with people cooking differently to make meat go further, Groves said.
"They're looking more at things like the prime mince, where you could get two or three meals out of a kilo of mince instead of buying a lower grade product that might just do one night," he said.
"Let's face it, you can do a lot with mince. You can do lasagnas and all these other really nice meals with plenty of veggies thrown in here."
The cost of labour and running a business had also forced prices up, he said.
"We used to have clean-up boys and Saturday workers, we'd have five or six of them here on a Saturday back five years ago.
"Now we're down to two just with the minimum wage increase. Everything's just adding on adding, it's pretty endless."
Poultry was up a whopping 15.3 percent in September compared with the same time last year, according to the food price index.
RNZ took a trip out to the west Auckland suburb of Massey on 13 October to find out how meat prices compared between Pak'nSave, Countdown, and the newly opened Costco - which offers a selection of bulk meat packs.
Outside Westgate mall, one shopper said the prices of meat over the years in general frightened him.
"It's terrifying. I've noticed just everything in the meat department has almost doubled in the last five years or so.
"Particularly steak, I draw the line at paying $50 a kilo for it."
Another shopper said things had gotten out of hand.
"Beef and lamb are off the planet, you only get it when it's on special."
Another customer said her grocery list had been shaken up.
"Spending habits have changed, [buying] less meat. I'm supposed to eat more veggies, but let's face it, that's difficult as well, isn't it?"
Inside Costco, hoards of shoppers were lined up for an $8 rotisserie chicken on Thursday last week.
Pak'nSave cooked chooks fared slightly more at $10, or $13 for free range, while Countdown's cost was $14 and $15, respectively.
In the sirloin steak department, Pak'nSave led the way at $31 a kilo, while at Countdown it was $35.50. Costco had Australian sirloin steak on offer for $35 a kilo, but the smallest pack that could be found came pre-packaged at 1.7kg. Ellerslie Meats sirloin came in at $40 per kilo.
Beef mince was $12 per kilo at Costco, but bulk buying was the only option, with 3 kilos being the smallest available pack when RNZ visited.
Meanwhile, at Pak'nSave it was $18 a kilo for beef mince, $19.50 at Countdown, and $19 a kilo at Ellerslie Meats, with premium mince at $25.
Pak'nSave chicken drum-sticks fetched $4.50 at the checkout, while Countdown had them for $6.50.
A kilo of chicken breast fillets were $11 at Pak 'n' Save, and $12.70 at Countdown.
Costco had no chicken breasts or drumsticks in stock on Thursday last week, when RNZ visited.
For Ellerslie Meats butcher Ian Groves, retirement is around the corner.
But he said he expected the rising cost of meat would lead to a trend that could take off in coming years.
"I think the big scene down the track with the changes and regulations will be home kill.
"Home kill is already quite big, but the lifestylers will be saying ... 'I'll get a home kill butcher in, get some sausages made, get a few steaks out of it and have a couple of cows running around in the paddock'."