Supermarkets are increasingly charging customers for fresh fruits and vegetables by the piece, not by weight. This new pricing method has caused "wild volatility" in prices, making some items over 50% more expensive, a Sydney data analyst found. The analyst compared online "per each" prices with actual in-store "per kilo" prices at Woolworths for 15 produce items. They called the price differences "completely arbitrary" and a "massive transparency failure" for buyers. Woolworths still prices most fresh produce by weight in store but charges per item online for some goods like avocados and mangoes. Meanwhile, Coles is testing per-item pricing for more fresh produce, saying it helps customers know exactly what they will pay. The problem is shoppers often don’t see the per-kilo price or the average weight of items online. This makes it hard to tell if the per-item price is fair. One clear example is the "capsicum paradox". Woolworths charges 51% more for green capsicums online per piece than in-store per kilo. While in store the price is $9.90/kg, the online per piece price means an effective rate close to $15/kg. The analyst weighed sample fruits and vegetables in a Sydney Woolworths and found prices for potatoes, mandarins, limes, and carrots were higher per piece. Potatoes were 30% costlier this way. However, some items like broccoli and onions were cheaper per item than by weight. Existing rules allow supermarkets to price produce either way. The analyst called this a "big loophole" and warned it could hide practices like shrinkflation, where smaller pieces cost the same. Consumer group Queensland Consumers Association wants pricing laws changed so all produce shows clear per kilo prices first. They say any per-item info should be secondary. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommends retailers show per kilogram price and average weight when pricing per item, but this is not mandatory yet. Woolworths says customers like ordering a set number of pieces online, and their prices mostly match in-store rates. Coles welcomes customer feedback on their per-item pricing trial. The government plans to improve pricing rules but has not set new rules for per-piece pricing yet. Assistant Competition Minister Andrew Leigh said, "supermarket prices shouldn’t be a guessing game."