Younger Aussies spend one-quarter of income on groceries

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Younger Australians and lower-income households are spending up to 25 per cent of their income on groceries, according to a survey from the Australian Consumer Corruption Commission (ACCC).

Australians are spending more time shopping for savings, substituting fresh food with frozen and cutting back on non-essential items to reduce grocery bills.

Others are skipping meals or sacrificing meals to feed their children.

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Supermarket shelves

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More than 13,000 people have completed the consumer survey, which is part of the ACCC's supermarket inquiry.

The inquiry is examining supermarket pricing practices and the relationship between wholesale, including farmgate, and retail prices.

So far the inquiry has been told the big supermarkets were abusing their power and should be broken up before there was a societal breakdown.

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"A clear theme in the survey responses so far is that consumers consider the price of groceries to be a major factor in the cost-of-living crisis," ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

"Grocery shopping is essential in everyone's life and we strongly encourage Australians to share their experiences with us via our online survey."

The ACCC is urging more Australians, especially adults under the age of 30 for whom English is not their first language and rural residents, to complete the survey.

The survey closes on April 2 and can be completed here.