Vegetable prices jump after cyclone damage

Vegetables are pricey. Photo/file

Jaw-dropping prices for some vegetables have had customers doing double takes in Bay of Plenty produce aisles this week.

Tales of tussles for the last bag of mesclun have dimmed, as growers recover from last month's weather damage.

However, some full-size leafy greens and brassica vegetables are still pricey.

Shopper Maxine Paterson said she spotted cauliflower for $9.89 in Gate Pa New World earlier this week.

"I refuse to pay that," she said. She opted for frozen vegetables but said stocks of those were running low.

A whole cauliflower was $8.89 when the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend visited yesterday.

In April last year, the NZ Herald reported cauliflower reaching an all-time high of $10 a head.

The price shocks came on the back of food index figures released by Statistics New Zealand on Thursday showing vegetable prices up 10 per cent in April compared to March.

"Vegetable prices were influenced by some seasonal increases as well as heavy rain affecting some crops," Stats NZ consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh said.

Cauliflower, usually around $5 at this time of year, was $6-$9 across Tauranga and Mount Maunganui supermarkets visited in the past two days.

Iceberg lettuces, unbagged, were going for $5-$7, and a bag of silverbeet could set you back $4.50-$6.

Stocks of dark leafy greens including spinach and silverbeet appeared low in some stores.

Gate Pa Fresh Market owner Dave Stewart said he had visited a salad farm in Cambridge recently and had seen the damage done by last month's cyclones.

Tracks of produce had been flooded, and vegetables had rotted in the warm, humid weather that followed the drenching, he said.

"It's amazing how much damage the rain had done."

Stocks of salad vegetables were recovering, and the rest would follow, he said.

Mr Stewart advised people to shop smart and build meals around other in-season vegetables such as carrots, which were more affordable.

They could also consider the nutritional benefits of vegetables when thinking about whether it was worth spending a bit more.

"People are happy to pay $5 for a cup of coffee or a beer."

The Statistics NZ figures showed fruit prices down 3.0 per cent, and the overall cost of groceries was down 0.8 per cent last month, Mr Haigh said.

"Vegetable prices were influenced by some seasonal increases as well as heavy rain affecting some crops," he said.

"The largest upwards contributors were mostly salad items, with higher prices for tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and avocados."

In the year to April, vegetable prices were up 8.1 per cent, influenced by higher prices for lettuce, broccoli, and kumara.

Fruit prices fell 3.5 per cent, impacted by lower avocado prices. Avocado prices were at historically high levels a year ago, due to a crop shortage.

Food prices increased 0.2 per cent overall in the year to April, led by restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food.