“Supply chains are recovering and global commodities are moderating from record highs,” he told the hearing on Tuesday.

“However, it will take a while before our food systems return to an even keel.”

Harker confirmed the majority of shoppers were moving between supermarkets hoping to find a bargain.

“In the last year, around seven in 10 of our customers have also shopped at Coles, Aldi and IGA,” he said.

Central banks around the world have pushed up interest rates in a bid to bring down inflation. The June-quarter inflation report, to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show inflation in Australia easing to its lowest rate since September 2021, but with prices continuing to climb in areas such as rent, food and household furnishings.

On Tuesday evening, the International Monetary Fund used an update to its world economic outlook to argue central banks including the Reserve Bank would have to consider more rate increases as inflation was likely to remain elevated this year and next.

The IMF expects the global economy to expand by 3 per cent this year and next, after growth of 3.5 per cent in 2022. The forecast for 2023 has been increased by 0.2 percentage points from the fund’s April expectations.

At 3 per cent, global growth would be well short of its historical norm.

Global inflation is expected to ease from 8.7 per cent to 6.8 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent in 2024, in line with the fund’s April forecasts. But underlying inflation is expected to decline more slowly than had been predicted three months ago.

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According to the IMF, central banks need to remain focused on bringing inflation under control.

“In most economies, the priority remains achieving sustained disinflation while ensuring financial stability. Therefore, central banks should remain focused on restoring price stability and strengthening financial supervision and risk monitoring,” it said.

Central banks, including the Reserve, have expressed fears that their efforts to bring down inflation could be stymied by a lift in wage growth.

But the IMF noted there were still no signs that inflation pressures were being driven by workers getting higher wages.

“To date, wage-price spirals – wherein prices and wages accelerate together for a sustained period – do not appear to have taken hold in the average advanced economy, and longer-term inflation expectations remain anchored,” it said.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the IMF report highlighted the rough and tricky road ahead for the global economy, with ramifications for the domestic financial outlook.

“The pressures coming at us from abroad, along with higher interest rates, will inevitably see growth in our own economy slow considerably – which is what Treasury and the Reserve Bank both forecast,” he said.

“In the face of ongoing global challenges, the Albanese government’s economic plan is all about making the budget more responsible, our economy more resilient, and providing responsible cost-of-living relief that doesn’t add to inflationary pressures.”

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