Grocery prices

We're a family of five who have booked a house for a week in the Muri area for a holiday next month. We've heard from a few sources that groceries are pretty pricey and wondered about bringing some basics with us from New Zealand. Some guidance on this would be really good. Like what price would we expect to pay for milk, bread, etc. I understand meat is expensive but am happy to eat lots of fish as I assume this would be cheaper. Also, are there any rules about bringing food in from New Zealand?

Thanks for your help

Prices at Foodland (recommended) and CITC Foodmarket (OK, but not as good for deli) are about 20% higher than in NZ for a lot of things.

But, there are local fruits and veggies you can get in these summer months, check out Wigmore's Superstore, south coast (about 5 miles west of Muri).

You can bring in packaged goods from NZ, but I don;t think it's really worth it unless you have a lot of extra baggage allowance and have some things you need to have. Fresh fish is very cheap on Raro, eating out is about the same as in Auckland and CHC.

I'd just go with the fow, in the long run it won't cost that much more than in NZ if you try to eat local foods, fish, etc.

Just got back from Raro, Takeaway prices about the same as NZ, would recommend Aromoana Fish and Chips at Avatiu Harbour. Bread about $3 a loaf, Milk all HT milk and dearer than nz, pawpaw, watermelon, oranges (all local fruit cheap as).
Rump steak was advertised at $9.90 a kilo - pretty much the same as here.
We fould fish quite expensive in Raro e.g 2 fish and chips $9.00
Try buying some at the market and cooking yourself- it may be cheaper that way.
You don't say if you are taking children, icecreams, chips that sort of thing is double of NZ prices.
Hope this has helped.

Thanks for the replies. We are a family of two adults and three children - 9, 14 and 15. Undoubtedly the children's snack food requirements will be our biggest issue. Looking forward to fresh tropical fruit and some local fish too.

CITC Foodstore, a little out of the main town of avarua, has the most snack food choices, it's a warehouse type operation, so this stuff might be cheaper than at Foodland. Most expensive would be the village shops.

I'm from the US and we've found that taking snacks works quite well. We pack everything in a cooler (chilly bin). Anything in a sealed package seems to have no problem. Also, for the outer islands we take our own snorkle gear and fishing tackle. When we leave all the stuff makes great gifts and we're always welcomed back. Chilly bins are especially appreciated on the outer islands.

We've found that fresh milk is replaced in many places with soy products or dried milk. Yogurt seems plentiful in Raro and Aitutaki. On all of the other islands in the southern group it's a good idea to take the staples like flour and oil and any seasonings you use for cooking. Snacks make great gifts. We once took some chocolate bars to Aitutaki and after we gave some to a local family we found a pile of mangos and paw paws on our porch every morning for a week!