Tomato price doubles in last month

The average price was sitting at $6.34 per kilogram, up from just under $3 per kilo in March. Photo / RNZ - Carol Stiles

RNZ

Tomato prices doubled in the last month - in part due to unreliable export options - latest Stats NZ figures show.

The average price was sitting at $6.34 per kilogram, up from just under $3 per kilo in March. Cucumbers also jumped in price, up by 50 per cent to $12.41 per kilo.

Stats NZ spokesperson Katrina Dewbery said the rise was partly down to regular seasonal change, with tomatoes coming off their summer low prices, but there were other elements at play.

"There's also been some oversupply in the domestic market following Covid, as growers are struggling to get their tomatoes exported due to a shortage in freight and increasing shipping costs ... which has been influencing their plans for tomato crops.

"That has been kind of going on throughout Covid and we'll be seeing some impacts from that in the future as well, I would expect."

Tomatoes reached a record high price of $13.65 per kilogram when there was a shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic in August 2020.

The overall food price index rose by just 1.1 per cent - those high prices partly offset by lower prices for kiwifruit, which was down 28 per cent.

"Kiwifruit is a highly seasonal fruit whose price usually peaks around March towards the end of its season. The weighted average price of kiwifruit was $6.01 per kilo in April, dropped from $8.39 per kilo in March."

- RNZ