Is there a bread shortage in New Zealand supermarkets?

Bread appears to be in short supply at New Zealand supermarkets at the moment. Photo / Getty Images

Whether you prefer a sourdough loaf or the basic “dollar” version, bread is a staple in most Kiwis’ weekly supermarket shops - and with the high cost of groceries at the moment, it’s the basis of countless budget-friendly meals.

But if you’ve noticed shelves looking a little bare in the bread aisle over the past couple of weeks, you might be wondering why it seems to be in short supply.

One supermarket shopper tells the NZ Herald the New World near Queenstown airport was virtually out of bread earlier this week.

The shelves in the bread aisle of many supermarkets have been looking a little bare over the past couple of weeks. Photo / Alex Cairns

“I went into New World near Queenstown airport around 4pm on Tuesday after flying into NZ and the only bread I could buy was the paper-thin Vogels,” she said.

Another said the bread supply was “pretty lacklustre” at New World in Freemans Bay, Auckland, over the past week, while another said she hadn’t been able to buy Lebanese flatbreads in any supermarket over the past month.

More than one noted a shortage at Pak’nSave in Glen Innes in Auckland, with one describing the shelves as “denuded” this week, and another adding: “On Tuesday evening there was one loaf of bread left on the whole rack. But that was the first day after the long Easter weekend, so that could have been why.”

Others noted an apparent shortage in supermarkets in Hobsonville, Birkenhead and Albany in recent weeks.

In 2019, North Island supermarkets experienced a severe bread shortage amid bakery workers striking over pay and working conditions. At the time, signs in supermarkets read, “Due to Tip Top going on strike there is limited bread available. We hope to have a full range soon,” while a Countdown spokesperson cited “supply issues” as the reason for the shortage.

In January last year, disruptions thanks to public holidays and supply issues meant staples such as bread and eggs were limited in supermarkets for a time, with shoppers only allowed to take home one bread product.

Shoppers have noticed bread is in short supply at some Pak'nSave stores of late.

So a year later, what’s causing the apparent shortage at the moment?

A Countdown spokesperson told the NZ Herald its stores had experienced a shortage earlier this week “due to a supplier breakdown”.

“Earlier this week, we did see a bread shortage across our stores due to a production breakdown at a key supplier,” they said.

“Since then, we’ve worked closely with suppliers to source additional bread and things are looking much better on-shelf today and heading into the weekend.”

Over at Foodstuffs, which encompasses New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square stores, a spokesperson said customers in the South Island “may have noticed some brands of bread have been in shorter supply than usual in some of our stores”.

“This is due to a bread supplier carrying out essential maintenance to manufacturing equipment over the Easter weekend. Now that maintenance has been completed, their bakery is back to 24/7 operation and bread supply at our stores is back to normal,” the spokesperson said.

They explained that because the supplier bakes bread “around the clock” to supply stores, it’s difficult to find the time to maintain its equipment.

The four-day Easter weekend was a good opportunity to do this maintenance work because most supermarkets closed according to Easter trading rules on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Now the Easter break is over, supply should rise again.

The spokesperson said Foodstuffs stores in the North Island were not affected by this.

“Many of our stores also have instore bakeries which make a wide range of breads and rolls and their supply has not been impacted.”