Food price index up 0.6pc in January

The Food Price Index rose 0.6 per cent in January, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The rise was double that forecast by economists.

The index is up 1.8 per cent for the year to January.

The January rise follows decreases of 0.1 per cent in both December and November 2004.

Higher prices for grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery; meat, fish and poultry; and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food were partly offset by lower prices for fruit and vegetables.

Prices for grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery rose 1.1 per cent in January, driven by higher prices for bread and bread rolls (up 3.6 per cent), boxed assorted chocolates (up 10.4 per cent) and soft drinks (up 1.6 per cent). Lower prices came from potato crisps (down 2.9 per cent).

Meat, fish and poultry prices rose 0.8 per cent in January, mainly due to higher prices for steak (up 4.2 per cent) and poultry (up 2.8 per cent). Prices for lamb fell 8.3 per cent.

Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 0.2 per cent in January. Within this subgroup, ready-to-eat food prices increased 0.2 per cent, while prices for restaurant meals increased 0.1 per cent.

Fruit and vegetables prices fell 1.1 per cent in January, with a 4.5 per cent decrease in prices for fresh vegetables. Downward contributions came from tomatoes (down 38.2 per cent) and potatoes (down 6.1 per cent), while upward contributions came from apples (up 20.0 per cent), pumpkin (up 38.0 per cent) and bananas (up 9.1 per cent).

- NZPA