Cost of groceries drives food prices up 6.6% on last year
Wednesday, 13 July 2022
The cost of filling the trolley continues to climb, driving food prices up 6.6% on last year.
Data from Stats NZ shows grocery food prices were 7.6% higher last month compared to June 2021, with milk, potato chips and yoghurt seeing the largest increases.
The grocery category was the largest contributor to the overall increase in food prices, followed by restaurant and ready-to-eat foods, which increased by 6.3%.
Meat, poultry, and fish prices were up 6.8%, while fruit and vegetable prices rose 5.6% and prices for non-alcoholic drinks increased by 4.8%.
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Monthly food prices were 1.2% higher in June compared with May. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 0.8%.
A 4.9% increase in fruit and vegetable prices was the largest contributor to the monthly movement.
After adjusting for seasonal effects, fruit and vegetable prices were up 0.7%, indicating that most of the movement in fruit and vegetables is due to seasonal effects.
“The vegetables that are most influencing this increase are tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans,” Stats NZ consumer prices manager Fiona Smillie said.
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“While cucumbers and green beans have both reached their highest recent June prices, tomatoes have bucked that trend and fallen 30% in June 2022 compared with June 2021.”
The second-largest contributor to the monthly movement was restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food, which increased by 0.7%.