Food prices fall 0.6% in November

Monday 13th December 2010

Food prices fell 0.6% in November, led by drops in vegetable prices.

Publishing the data today, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said the fruit and vegetable category fell 5.7% last month, after two months of rises when prices were affected by unusual weather conditions.

Vegetable prices fell 9.9% in November, while fruit prices lifted 1.5%.

Lettuce prices were down 34.4%, tomatoes 26.6%, and broccoli 45.2%. Prices for those items normally dropped in November, but lettuce prices last month were still two-thirds higher than the average November level for the past 10 years, with broccoli one-third higher, SNZ said.

Kiwifruit prices normally rose in November, and the 21.7% increase last month still left the price 1.6% lower than a year earlier.

Also in November, the meat, poultry, and fish category was down 0.5%, while grocery food prices rose 0.1%, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices were up 0.6%, and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 1.7%.

Potato prices rose 16.2%, soft drinks 2.8% and nectarines 41.8%.

For the year to November, food prices were up 4.8%, including the 2.2% rise in October when GST rose to 15% from 12.5%.

Grocery food prices rose 5% for the year, fruit and vegetables were up 11.9%, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food up 3.6%, non-alcoholic beverages up 3.2%, and meat, poultry, and fish up 1.1%.

Significant changes among individual items over the year included fresh milk up 14.7%, potatoes up 31.9%, tomatoes up 41.9%, and cheddar cheese up 24.4%.

Fresh chicken prices fell 4.3% during the year, with bacon down 3.5%.

NZPA

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