She said she bought half a pumpkin, four potatoes, two broccoli and four carrots for the same price as three kumara.
David Stewart of The Fresh Market in Gate Pa said growers had expected stocks of kumara to be exhausted by this time of year after a terrible growing season.
A very dry spring last year was followed by heavy rain through January and March that flooded growing areas in Dargaville. A lot of the crop was lost to rot or disease.
He understood the seasonal yield was about 30 per cent of normal.
Stewart said he was paying about $150 for a 20kg crate - this time last year it would have been half that, and kumara would have sold around the $4.95/kg mark.
"Initially, they said we would run out by June or July, but by moving the price up they have slowed it a touch. I reckon it will stretch 'til Christmas."
Like other supermarkets, he had edged the price of his kumara up to $12.95/kg in an attempt to make the stocks last.
He said there were cheaper kumara, including smaller bagged options and purple kumara, which usually did not sell well but this year was doing better.
The price spike was a just part of being in a small country that was expensive to import to, Stewart said.
"We're only a small country and we have one climate."
Climate anomalies could have lasting effects, and there was no nearby neighbouring country or area to import from like European countries could.
He suggested Kiwi shoppers save kumara for special occasions and look towards other seasonal fruit and vegetables that had stayed cheap through the winter.
He'd had carrots, spuds and apples at $1 a kilo all winter, and broccoli had sat around $2 a head.
Imported butternut and buttercup pumpkins had helped keep the price of New Zealand-grown pumpkins down, too.
"You've just got to shop selectively. You don't have to buy kumara."
Red kumara prices in Tauranga yesterday
Countdown Cameron Rd: $8.99/kg
New World Cameron Rd: $11.49/kg
Fresh Market: $12.95/kg
Pak'n'Save Cameron Rd: no stock
