NZ food prices increase 7.4 percent annually

Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Food prices were 7.4 percent higher in July 2022 compared with 12 months ago, Stats NZ says.

In July 2022, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories that Stats NZ measure. Compared with July 2021:

• grocery food prices increased by 7.5 percent

• restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 6.6 percent

• fruit and vegetable prices increased by 10 percent

• meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 7.7 percent

• non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 4.6 percent.

• grocery food was the largest contributor to the movement.

Stats NZ consumer prices manager Fiona Smillie says increasing prices for cheddar cheese, standard two-litre milk, and yoghurt were the largest contributors within grocery food.

The second-largest contributors to this movement were restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food. The items within this group that influenced this movement the most were eat-in lunch/brunch meals and ethnic takeaway meals, excluding including Chinese takeaways.

The rising cost of fruit and vegetables is diving monthly increases.

Monthly food prices were 2.1 percent higher in July 2022 compared with June 2022. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 1.1 percent.

A 10 percent increase in fruit and vegetable prices was the largest contributor to the monthly movement. After adjusting for seasonal effects, fruit and vegetables were up 3.1 percent.

This indicates that whilst seasonal impacts drove most of the movement, after removing these impacts fruit and vegetables still increased by 3.1 percent.

Smillie says vegetables had the largest impact on the increase, influenced by higher prices for tomatoes, lettuce, and broccoli.

The second-largest contributor to the monthly movement was grocery food, which rose 1.0 percent overall. This was driven by price increases in cheddar cheese, up 4.5 percent, and cage or barn-raised eggs, up 4.2 percent.