The owner of the biggest independent grocery business in Australia says his business has felt the pinch of the slowing economy.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported an annual GDP growth of 1.7 per cent which is lower than Reserve Bank forecasts.

But the government insists this is still a good result.

Drakes Supermarkets owner Roger Drake tells Ross Greenwood it’s been a “tough period”.

“We haven’t seen the kick that we all thought we would get.

“We’re hoping that we’re going to see an increase.

“They’ve been very conservative in what they’re spending on food, they’re going from the fillet steak to just ordinary chops and sausages.”

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Image: Getty/Aziz Ary Neto