KEY POINTS:
Cheese and butter were the main culprits behind a rise in the latest food price index.
Overall, food prices increased 0.6 per cent in the last month, Statistics New Zealand said today.
Cheese prices rose 7.3 per cent and butter 23 per cent in October, reflecting the strong rise in dairy prices internationally.
New Zealand Food & Grocery Council's commercial director, Lindsay Davidson, said that the trend will not just be limited to the food industry but would affect several other sectors as well.
"The rise in commodity prices is part of a global trend triggered by rising oil prices and increasing use of biofuels," he said.
"The rapid hike in fuel prices has greatly affected transportation costs which in turn are affecting commodity pricing."
"Consumers will have to brace for more increases in food prices," he warned.
The grocery food subgroup rose 1.5 per cent. Milk (up 3.0 per cent) and chocolate (up 3.8 per cent), also contributed to the rise in grocery prices. The main downward contribution came from lower prices for chocolate biscuits (down 7.5 per cent).
Fruit and vegetables prices fell 1.5 per cent in October with tomatoes down 10.9 per cent, lettuce down 31.0 per cent and capsicums down 19.7 per cent. However broccoli rose 29.4 per cent and frozen vegetables 8.2 per cent.
For the year to October, food prices were up 3.6 per cent.
The upward contributions came from grocery food (up 4.7 per cent), meat, poultry and fish (up 5.6 per cent), and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 3.7 per cent) subgroups.
A less significant upward contribution came from non-alcoholic beverages (up 3.6 per cent).
The only downward contribution came from the fruit and vegetables subgroup (down 1.6 per cent).
- NZPA, NZHERALD STAFF
