According to Statistics New Zealand, food prices were 12.1% higher in March 2023 than they were in March 2022. Grocery food was the largest contributor to this movement.
“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and 6-pack yoghurt were the largest drivers within grocery food,” consumer prices manager James Mitchell says.
In March 2023, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories Stats NZ measures. Compared with March 2022:
• grocery food prices increased by 14%
• fruit and vegetables prices increased by 22%
• restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 8.7%
• meat, poultry and fish prices increased by 7.8%
• non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 8.%.
The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. The increase was driven by tomatoes, potatoes, and avocados.
Monthly food prices rose 0.8% in March 2023 compared with February 2023. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 0.%.
