NZ seasonally adjusted food prices fall 0.4% in March, apples weigh

Thursday 13th April 2017

New Zealand food prices fell in March as fruit and vegetable prices were weighed down by a sharp fall in the prices of apples and carrots.

The food price index declined a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, and was 1.3 percent higher than in March 2016, Statistics New Zealand said. On an unadjusted basis, food prices fell 0.3 percent on the month.

Fruit and vegetable prices fell a seasonally adjusted 2 percent while grocery food prices, which account for more than a third of the index, rose 0.2 percent on the month, Statistics NZ said.

“Apple and carrot prices usually fall at this time of the year as we approach the colder months. One kilo of apples cost $2.88 in March compared with $4.40 in February and $5.04 in January,” consumer prices acting manager Nicola Growden said.

The rise in grocery food prices was spurred by higher prices for chocolate and cheese, with cheese prices at their highest level since August 2014.

On the year, grocery food prices increased 2.2 percent, with higher prices for most dairy products. Fresh milk prices increased 6.5 percent, the largest annual increase since November 2014. Cheese and butter prices also increased, up 11 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Fruit and vegetable prices rose 2.6 percent while meat, poultry, and fish fell 1.5 percent mainly due to lower prices for chicken.

The food price index accounts for about 19 percent of the consumers price index, which is the Reserve Bank's mandated inflation target when setting interest rates. The central bank expects inflation to accelerate to a 1.5 percent annual pace in the first quarter, having returned to within its 1 percent-to-3 percent target band for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter.

(BusinessDesk)

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