Producer prices fell in the September quarter due to decreases in dairy prices, Statistics New Zealand said.
Prices received, as measured by the output producers price index (PPI), and paid, as measured by the input PPI, both fell in the September 2014 quarter. Prices dairy farmers received were down 28 per cent and the prices paid by dairy product manufacturers were down 23 per cent. In the year to the September quarter, prices received by the dairy farming industry fell 34 per cent, and prices paid by the dairy manufacturing industry fell by 28 per cent.
Over the September 2014 quarter, the dairy product manufacturing output price index fell 8.7 per cent, reflecting lower prices for milk powder, butter, and cheese.
In the year to the September quarter, the output PPI fell 1.0 per cent, and the input PPI 2.2 per cent.