12 percent annual increase in NZ food prices

Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Food prices were 12 percent higher in February than they were as at the same time last year, according to StatsNZ.

In February this year, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories.

Compared with February 2022:

• grocery food prices increased by 12 percent

• fruit and vegetables prices increased by 23 percent

• restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 8.4 percent

• meat, poultry and fish prices increased by 9.8 percent

• non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 9.1 percent

“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and cheddar cheese were the largest drivers within grocery food,” StatsNZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell says. 

The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. The increases were seen in tomatoes, up a staggering 117 percent increase and in potatoes, up  48 percent.

The rise in the price of tomatoes is going through the glasshouse roof, thanks to the rising cost of three key elements.

The number one reason for more expensive tomatoes was more expensive and very scarce labour.

The cost of fertiliser and energy have jumped, with fertiliser up 81 percent in the past year. The three items accounted for 60 percent of the price of tomatoes on the shelf. The price of tomatoes rose nearly $4 between July and August last year.

The price of many food items is rising quickly, but tomatoes are leading the way. They are up 162 percent since 2009 when food inflation was the same as it is now, beating cabbages (up 138.1 percent) and capsicums (up 118 percent).

Monthly food prices rose 1.5 percent in February 2023 compared with January 2023. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 2.1 percent.

Fruit and vegetables was the largest contributor to the monthly movement. Within this group, the items having the greatest impact were broccoli, tomatoes, and lettuce.

Impacts of recent weather events

Weather events in January and February impacted data collection for the FPI during the February 2023 month.

Data collection for prices of a small amount of fresh fruit and vegetables was not completed for some weeks in the Auckland and Napier / Hastings regions.