It's been revealed UK supermarket giant Tesco, declined the Finance Minister's invitation for a meeting to discuss the issues in our grocery sector

Nicola Willis announced a request for information last year, aiming to explore what barriers prevented a new competitor from breaking up Woolworths and Foodstuffs duopoly.

The supermarket opted not to participate in the process, alongside two other supermarket giants, Aldi and Lidl.

Grocery advocate Ernie Newman, says he had never believed new entrants could be coaxed into the New Zealand market.

He says if all these entrants have been saying no to Nicola Willis, she needs to front up to it.