Food prices up in July - veg and dairy to blame

Photo / Martin Sykes

Food prices rose 1.6 per cent in July, reflecting higher dairy prices and a winter jump in vegetable prices.

This follows a 1.3 per cent increase in June and a fall of 0.7 per cent in May, the latest Food Price Index from Statistics New Zealand shows.

The fruit and vegetables subgroup rose 8.7 percent in July due to a seasonal rise in vegetable prices.

Higher lettuce (up 44.9 per cent) and tomatoes(up 13.9 per cent) prices were the main drivers.

Vegetable prices normally increase in winter months, with lettuce prices typically peaking in July.

"Vegetable prices rose 29 per cent over June and July this year, which is about the same as the increase over June and July last year," SNZ's prices manager Chris Pike said.

Grocery food prices rose 1.2 per cent in July 2010.

The major contributors to the increase were fresh milk - up 5.9 per cent, on top of a 5.1 per cent increase in January, and yoghurt, up 7.0 per cent from reductions in some package sizes.

The meat, poultry, and fish subgroup increased 0.5 per cent and the restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food subgroup increased 0.3 per cent in the July 2010 month.

Prices for non-alcoholic beverages fell 1.1 per cent in the same period.
Food prices fell 1.0 per cent for the year to July 2010.

The most significant falls came from lower prices for bread (down
2.1 percent) and coffee(down 6.6 percent).

This is the third consecutive annual fall in food prices, which has not occurred in the past ten years.

"Food prices rose nearly 17 per cent from July 2007 to when they peaked in July 2009, and have fallen one per cent since," Chris Pike said.

In the year to July 2010, fruit and vegetable prices fell 4.3 per cent, while meat, poultry, and fish prices fell 2.8 per cent.

Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 2.1 per cent during the same period.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE