Summarised by Centrist
A poll commissioned by Foodstuffs and leaked to Stuff found 45% supported National’s policy to investigate forcing Pak’nSave and New World into separate companies, while 38% opposed it.
But only 28% expected separation to lower grocery prices. Nearly half, 48%, said it would not, while 23% were unsure.
Talbot Mills surveyed 1,325 people between September 16 and 21.
Foodstuffs said a forced split needed evidence showing what shoppers would save, how quickly savings would arrive and whether they would justify the costs.
“We just don’t want to make groceries more expensive trying to make them cheaper,” a spokesperson said.
Government-commissioned modelling by Sense Partners forecast $13.1 billion in consumer benefits over 20 years.
However, economists Houston Kemp, hired by Foodstuffs, challenged the model’s assumptions. They said it treated Foodstuffs’ existing stores and brands as though they did not compete with one another, potentially overstating the extra competition a split would create.
They called the predicted price cuts “beyond credulity” and warned of an “economic mirage”.
National finance spokesperson Nicola Willis defended the government’s modelling and questioned the credibility of Foodstuffs’ commissioned critique.
“I’m not surprised that Foodstuffs managed to commission advice that agreed with them,” she said.
Re-published from the Centrist with permission
