Woolworths boss warns ‘first wave’ of food price rises coming, says customers under ‘peak stress’

Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell expects a “first wave” of price rises in fruit, vegetables, milk and bread as she warns consumers are under “peak stress” amid the cost-of-living crisis. Ms Bardwell on Thursday said food and grocery suppliers were asking the nation’s biggest supermarket for price rises on their goods as they navigate significant increases in fuel and fertiliser costs caused by the Iran war. Almost half of shoppers were struggling to make ends meet, she said, citing internal research. “The Middle East conflict did not affect shelf prices in (the third quarter) and the impact on current prices remains limited, but suppliers are navigating significant increases in fuel and fertiliser costs, and we’re hearing from a growing number of them about the need for price increases,” Ms Bardwell told media on a call following the release of Woolworths latest quarterly sales results. “We’re still in the very early stages of these impacts, but we expect the pressures to grow, and fresh categories are in the first wave. We’re already seeing some cost increases flowing through to fruit and vegetables, milk and bread. “Farmers are particularly exposed to fuel and fertiliser prices. As those input costs persist, grocery products will come under further pressure.” While majority of cost increases have been managed, some have been passed onto consumers, Ms Bardwell said. Woolworths has announced a price freeze on 300 popular food and grocery items — including eggs, bread, chicken, sausages, pasta, and nappies — that will be in place for three months. Any cost increases agreed to with suppliers would be absorbed by Woolworths to keep price rises to a minimum, Ms Bardwell said. “We’ve learned from the last inflation cycle. This time, we’ll be more upfront and transparent with our customers about where prices are rising and why,” she said. Ms Bardwell expects price rise requests to come through in the coming months from suppliers across other grocery categories and household care. Ms Bardwell also pointed to its research which found 44 per cent of families said they were struggling to make ends meet. “What we’ve certainly seen in our research and conversations with customers (is) they’re really under peak stress at the moment compared to where we’ve seen them in the last couple of years,” she said. “It’s certainly indicating to us that they will be looking to save more money in their household shopping as they look to manage the budgets overall.” She said said more customers were looking for promotions and trading down to home brands to manage household budgets. Products on Price Freeze include a range of family staples including: ● Woolworths Hot Roast Chicken ● Woolworths Soft Bread Range 650g and 700g range ● Woolworths Cage Free Eggs XL 12 pack 700g ● Woolworths RSPCA Chicken Breast Fillets regular and bulk packs ● Woolworths Pork Sausages 10 pack 550g and Woolworths Thin Beef Sausages 10 pack 550g ● Woolworths Pasta 500g range ● Woolworths Frozen Mixed Berries 1kg and 500g packs ● Little One’s Nappy Range ● Vevelle Luxury Soft Toilet Tissue 3ply 24 pack ● Woolworths Essentials Facial Tissues White 2ply 224 pack