Food prices saw their smallest annual increase in February since early 2021 and were cheaper than last month - new numbers from Stats NZ show.
The cost of food jumped 2.1% in the 12 months to February of this year - the lowest increase since May 2021.
According to Stats NZ, the drop was due to a lower annual increase in fruit and vegetable prices – which were down 9.3% over the 12-month period.
“Cheaper prices for fresh produce such as tomatoes, broccoli, and lettuce drove the decrease in fruit and vegetable prices,” consumer prices manager Will Bell said.
However, “going out for a meal or grabbing takeaways was more expensive in February 2024,” Bell said.
Over the same 12-month period, the price of restaurant and ready-to-eat meals increased 6.7%.
Groceries also increased by 3.9% alongside non-alcoholic beverages (increased by 4.3%), with meat, poultry and fish prices increasing by 0.2%.
Compared with January of this year, February’s prices fell 0.6%.
Stats NZ said the main factor in this drop was cheaper fruit and vegetables, “driven by cheaper prices for apples, kumara, and tomatoes”.
Boxed chocolates, yoghurt, and lamb also contributed to the drop.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she welcomed the price drop, calling it a "step in the right direction for Kiwi families who have been pulling in their belts to cope with rising prices and rising pressures across the board".
“I know it can be a challenge to make weekly food budgets stretch. It’s good to see more stable prices coming back so people can start feeling more in control of their own finances.”
She said lowering prices are "exactly what we want to see" as the rate of inflation slows.
“We’re focused on continuing to do our bit to keep inflation down," she said
"We’re making sure we're getting good value out of government spending and not spending excessively, which could put more fuel on the inflation fire.”
Accommodation prices up
While food only saw a small increase in prices, accommodation shot up both domestically and internationally in February year-on-year.
International accommodation increased 24.5%, compared with a decrease of 6.3% during the same period in 2023.
“The cost of staying at accommodation while abroad, is more than 40% more expensive than five years ago,” Bell said.
Domestic accommodation increased 6.1%.
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