Food prices increased 7.4% in July 2022 compared to the same time last year, according to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand.
The price increase was attributed to rises across all broad food categories measured by Stats NZ.
Compared with July 2021, the 10% price increase for fruit and vegetables was the highest. It was followed by meat, poultry, and fish prices, which increased by 7.7%; grocery food prices, which increased by 7.5%; restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices, which rose 6.6%; and non-alcoholic beverage prices, which went up by 4.6%.
The biggest contributor to the movement was grocery food prices, which were influenced by the increasing cost for cheddar cheese, yoghurt and standard two-litre milk, Stats NZ's consumer prices manager Fiona Smillie said.
The second-largest contributor to the increase was restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food. The items which influenced the movement the most were eat-in lunch and brunch meals, as well as ethnic takeaway meals, not including Chinese takeaways.
Meanwhile, monthly food prices were 2.1% higher in July 2022 compared with the previous month. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 1.1%, Stats NZ said.
Grocery prices are up nearly 7.5% on this time last year, Stats NZ says. (Source: 1News)
The largest contributor to the monthly movement was fruit and vegetable prices, which were up 3.1% when adjusted for seasonal effects. It indicates that while seasonal impacts drove most of the movement, after removing these impacts fruit and vegetables still increased by 3.1%.
"Vegetables had the largest impact on this increase, influenced by higher prices for tomatoes, lettuce, and broccoli," Smillie said.
The second-largest contributor to the monthly movement was grocery food, which rose 1% overall. It was driven by price increases in cheddar cheese, which was up 4.5%, and cage or barn-raised eggs, up 4.2%.
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