KEY POINTS:
Butter and cheddar cheese prices jumped 14.7 per cent in January.
The price rises for both dairy products were a key factor in pushing the food price index up 0.4 per cent last month, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.
The increase in the grocery food subgroup of the index was 1.3 per cent for the month.
The subgroup with the largest fall in price was meat, poultry and fish which had a 1.3 per cent decline in January. Fresh chicken was down 4.3 per cent and beef was down 1.4 per cent, while ham was up 3.1 per cent.
For the year to January, food prices rose 4.4 per cent, with the grocery food subgroup up 8 per cent, while restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food was up 4.1 per cent; meat, poultry and fish was up 4.1 per cent; and non-alcoholic beverages up 2.8 per cent.
The fruit and vegetables subgroup recorded an overall decrease of 3.6 per cent in the year to January.
Individual product changes over the year included cheddar cheese up 63.1 per cent, fresh milk up 16.9 per cent, butter up 85.2 per cent and bread up 9.7 per cent.
The largest individual falls were apples down 13.3 per cent, avocados down 52.2 per cent, potato crisps down 6.1 per cent and carrots down 19 per cent.
- NZPA
