Increasing the price of cheap alcohol is an important tool that governments can use to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. This report investigates trends over time in alcohol prices and affordability in New Zealand to inform government policy and decision making on the price of alcohol for sale in New Zealand.
Key Results
- The average price per standard drink for a selection of alcoholic beverages has not changed appreciably since 2012, but beer and whisky from off-licensed premises became slightly cheaper per standard drink in 2017.
- When all alcohol products were examined, the real price (inflation-adjusted price) of wine was found to decrease from the late 1980s until 2017. Although the real price of beer and spirits and liqueurs increased from the 1980s, incomes have been increasing at a faster rate, making alcohol overall more affordable.
- The affordability of wine (which is the price of wine relative to income) increased by more than 20% since 2012, based on average hourly earnings and average alcohol prices.
- In 2017, it took as little as 2.1 minutes of work for a person on a median income (an ‘average’ worker) to earn enough money to buy one standard drink1 of averagely priced cask wine purchased from a supermarket or liquor store. It took only 1.6 minutes to buy a discounted standard drink of cask wine (based on the cheapest advertised prices).
- It takes less time to earn enough to buy an averagely priced standard drink of beer, whisky or cask wine from off-licensed premises (supermarket or liquor store) now than in 1999. In contrast, it takes longer to earn enough for a beer at on-licensed premises now than in 1999.