(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
Australians in the Northern Territory are paying the most to buy groceries of anybody in the country.
The consumer advocacy group Choice has released its 2015 supermarket price survey, conducted at four supermarket giants across 93 stores in Australia.
It has found the Australian Capital Territory is the cheapest place to buy groceries.
Van Nguyen has the details.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
For the first time in six years, Choice sent undercover shoppers into 93 supermarkets in 17 cities around Australia.
They were comparing the prices of home brands and leading brands.
Among other results, the survey has found little difference between the prices offered at Coles and Woolworths.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey says the reasoning for the small difference is the pricing war between the two biggest supermarkets.
"When we look at the prices across the country, what's really reflected is the national pricing strategy from the big two supermarkets. So, the fact that they price match each other in every state and territory and across the country. So, the fact that there's a six or seven dollar difference between the ACT and the Northern Territory is actually pretty good. I think consumers aren't paying too much more for those leading brands nationally, but this is very much a story of the savings with private brands. If your only option is Coles and Woolsworth and you want to save money, then your best option is to buy private labelled groceries, because there are some big savings to be made if you do that."
Tasmania has moved from being the most expensive state in Choice's 2009 survey to the second cheapest state this year, just behind the ACT.
Mr Godfrey says other states could benefit from the national pricing strategy if a third supermarket were introduced in those states.
"I think the fact that Tasmania has moved up the list and become more affordable, they're probably the beneficiary of this national pricing strategy from the big two supermarkets. I think it probably reflects the fact that national pricing strategies have come in and Tasmania is now benefitting. So they're now the second most affordable place to buy groceries. I think the fact is, though, that consumers in South Australia, Western Australia, Tassie and the Northern Territory are going to benefit greatly from when Aldi decides to turn up, because, when Aldi turns up, there is a viable, cheaper, third supermarket where people can go and make some genuine savings."
But news that the Northern Territory is the most expensive place to buy groceries does not help ease concerns for remote Indigenous communities.
Gunbalanya Community Chair team leader Cherie Nichols says there are no big supermarkets in her area.
"It's very expensive out here, and there's only -- what? -- one place to shop. They can sort of charge what they like, and we have to pay it. So, (it's) just how it is."
She says the community could benefit from easier access to a big supermarket.
"Most of the stuff we have to order from Darwin, and it comes out by truck 400 (kilometres) from Darwin, so it takes like a day, at least, to get anything from town. But there is a supermarket, a little store, here, a supermarket-type thing, where we're (at), a couple minutes from the centre. But it has limited supplies and qualities."
The owner of a locally based supermarket in the ACT, Hoon Ahn, says he has concerns of his own.
He says the prices are affecting his small businesses.
"At the moment, the economy is very slow, it's very low, so big supermarkets make big deals for customers. Discounts, sales, specials, like that. So, they drop, actually, the price, and then ... The normal price is not dropped, but they give more specials, more specials, and then the price drops, so it affects us."
Choice's Tom Godfrey says the survey shows Aldi supermarkets offer the cheapest prices in the country.
And the survey shows IGA supermarkets are the most expensive.
"What we found is that, if you have an Aldi supermarket, you can save up to 50 per cent when it comes to leading brands by shopping at Aldi and avoiding Coles and Woolsworths."
