Ninety-one percent of New Zealanders reckon they are paying too much for their milk.

A Consumer New Zealand survey of 1000 people found that 79 per cent also want a government inquiry into milk pricing practices.

Consumer New Zealand CEO Sue Chetwin said the survey showed that 66 per cent of people knew that one milk processing company, Fonterra, collected 90 percent of all milk produced in the country, and that 80 per cent thought that greater competition in the domestic dairy market would lower prices.

"We just wanted to know how much New Zealanders knew about milk pricing in NZ. How prices are set. If they thought that there was any competition in the market, and if they agreed if there was any market dominance."

Consumer New Zealand has joined in the growing call for a government inquiry into dairy prices which have risen steeply in recent times.

“There certainly is a view, one that we hold, that it is time for a government inquiry into milk and dairy pricing simply because of the monopoly position that Fonterra holds in the New Zealand market.

International dairy prices have risen 18 per cent this year and reached record levels earlier this month.

Sue Chetwin said there was concern that, due to lack of competition, Kiwis were paying more than international prices for milk and other dairy products.

"We were surprised by the number of people who thought there was a lack of competition in the New Zealand markets for milk prices and at the awareness of that.

"Also the fact that they believe that the lack of competition meant that we were getting higher prices..but we were interested in the fact that people were very aware of how milk prices were actually set in this country.