US Butter imported by PaknSave as cheaper than NZ Brands

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altered-ego
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#3467551 7-Mar-2026 15:47

Technofreak: It's not that much cheaper, less than 3%. ...

On the Pak'nSave website, it still is the cheapest 500g block of butter.

Remember the joke "you don't have to out run the bear, you only have to outrun your friend". Same here. If they are cheaper, people will buy it. If they bought the US butter for a hypothetical $4 per block, then selling it at the current price of $7 is double win for them. They are the cheapest in the market & they are making a huge profit. Just because they bought it at $4, doesn't mean they have to sell it at $4.50 or for that matter at $8. By virtue of being the cheapest, people will buy this product.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

moxpearl

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#3467640 7-Mar-2026 17:56

Technofreak:

The price of New Zealand dairy produce is set by an international auction process. Supply and demand drive the price. Fonterra have no meaningfull influence of the price they get.

While this US butter may not be bought and sold by the same process it's a fair bet to say that it's selling price is still largely affected by the auction process. That leads to the question, why is it cheaper?

Because food in most of the world is produced under absolutely giant gov subsidies.(Including this "Butter") and the food the cows eat (It's not grass, it's generally 5+ diff "Food Products" re the feed.) is also produced under massive subsidies

Kiwifan

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#3467641 7-Mar-2026 18:02

We have friends in California that buy West Coast butter at Costco. They don’t buy US butter unless Costco is awaiting another shipment. We figured they were paying a similar price to us given dollar conversions etc.

Eva888

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#3467704 8-Mar-2026 10:10

At about 20 cents more for Pams I would prefer it to the pale insipid looking US butter. However, I wouldn’t buy it anyway as a personal protest against 'orange' wars.

You have to wonder why PAK’nSAVE would give us this new option. They obviously don’t read the politics thread. Yesterday shopping there I felt like slapping a 'Please Boycott' sticker on the butter box. Apart from wars, we are also treated to tariffs. Why would any Kiwi lick the buttery hand that attacks their country.

huckster

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#3467761 8-Mar-2026 11:27

Eva888:

At about 20 cents more for Pams I would prefer it to the pale insipid looking US butter. However, I wouldn’t buy it anyway as a personal protest against 'orange' wars.

You have to wonder why PAK’nSAVE would give us this new option. They obviously don’t read the politics thread. Yesterday shopping there I felt like slapping a 'Please Boycott' sticker on the butter box. Apart from wars, we are also treated to tariffs. Why would any Kiwi lick the buttery hand that attacks their country.

Pale and insipid. Should have put that on my "review".

geek3001

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#3467762 8-Mar-2026 11:28

Starlith:

It’s cheaper but not by much and it’s not from grass fed milk which is typically what nz butter is all about. Would take grass fed over grain any day especially if it’s from US.

The packaging as depicted on Pak n Save's website doesn't appear to say whether the butter is made from cream that has come from grass or corn/grain-fed cows. The local re-packager claims on the wrapper that they stand behind the product.

The nutritional panel shows the US butter has a little less fat content, and a higher salt content than my NZ go-to brand.

My understanding is that grass-fed cows produce milk and cream (and meat?) that is higher in omega-3 fatty acids and also has a better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, which is supposed to be better for human health.

Corn/grain-fed cows produce milk and cream (and meat?) with lower a omega-3 fatty acid level which is supposedly not so healthy for humans.

Butter gets a bad rap for being high in saturated fat, however I think it is still healthier in moderation than most other vegetalbe-oil-based non-butter alternatives, as there are natural fat-soluble nutrients in butter, that may or may not be added to non-butter alternatives.

I'm reminded of an old TV add for butter, where the kid asks his Mum "what's in butter". She replies, "cream and salt". Then the kid asks "what's in margarine", the Mother replies, "ask your Father, he's the chemist".

I'm happier to buy NZ made butter when it's on special (it lasts quite a long time in the freezer), made from grass-fed NZ cows.

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geek3001

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#3467763 8-Mar-2026 11:30

huckster:

Pale and insipid. Should have put that on my "review".

That suggests the butter is made from grain-fed cows milk, which lacks the carotinoids from grass which gives the grass-fed butter its natural yellow colour.

denby

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#3467778 8-Mar-2026 13:43

I'm not sure we should be contributing to making America great again. Trump is a looney whos got his finger on the nuclear button. The country is run by a bunch of gangsters.This is probably not the right forum but I won't be buying US butter as an economic protest,not that it will make much difference.

ezbee

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#3467792 8-Mar-2026 14:15

What's Soy Fed Butter like ? Given Soy mountain.

At Pack and Save
I've seen USA pork.
Turkey Tails (No country of origin I could see but I assume we don't have massive Turkey supply here)

P.S. On Pork, that surprised me as importers interviewed about our easing Pork imports talked about Canadian Pork.

pdh

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#3467886 8-Mar-2026 18:01

>This is probably not the right forum

Correct - and I do wish you'd extend your boycott to American-made software...

wellygary

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#3467950 8-Mar-2026 20:09

ezbee:

What's Soy Fed Butter like ? Given Soy mountain.

At Pack and Save
I've seen USA pork

NZ imports are 50-60% of all pork sold in NZ, anout 1/2 the imports come from the EU, then its US and Canada,

but I've yet to see anyone specifically marketing "Canadian Bacon"

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mattwnz

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#3467973 8-Mar-2026 23:07

denby:

I'm not sure we should be contributing to making America great again. Trump is a looney whos got his finger on the nuclear button. The country is run by a bunch of gangsters.This is probably not the right forum but I won't be buying US butter as an economic protest,not that it will make much difference.

I do wonder how cheap the supermarket has purchased it for in order to make it worth doing. I would have thought it would be better to import grass fed butter from the UK or Oz instead. I do think it will be funny if no one buys it as they will have to dump it cheaply on special to get rid of it.

moxpearl

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#3467994 9-Mar-2026 07:54

mattwnz:

denby:

I'm not sure we should be contributing to making America great again. Trump is a looney whos got his finger on the nuclear button. The country is run by a bunch of gangsters.This is probably not the right forum but I won't be buying US butter as an economic protest,not that it will make much difference.

I do wonder how cheap the supermarket has purchased it for in order to make it worth doing. I would have thought it would be better to import grass fed butter from the UK or Oz instead. I do think it will be funny if no one buys it as they will have to dump it cheaply on special to get rid of it.

Butter is already cheaper in NZ than AU and UK.

Cheapest home brand at Coles is $8.33NZD.
Cheapest home brand at Tesco is $9.10NZD.

(Pams at Paknsave is $7.19)

trig42

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#3468008 9-Mar-2026 08:45

The US butter at Pak n Save is whiter (and saltier) than NZ Grass fed butter, but it's still butter.

Some people, and butter is a staple, may care about the politics but can't afford to be fussy. I have seen that butter at $6.49 and every dollar counts.

I think I'd still buy the Pam's at $7.19, but luckily for me I can afford to make that choice (I actually stocked up on Costco butter a couple of weeks back at $12.99 for 4x226g (so, the US butter is actually better value than that too).

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#3468063 9-Mar-2026 10:42

mattwnz:

crazy the carbon miles on each block yet still cheap. I wonder how it actually compares

This is a significant concern of mine.

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