Food prices have largest annual decrease in six years

Thursday, 11 July 2024

Food prices have dropped.

Food prices have had the largest annual decrease in six years, according to Stats NZ.

In the 12 months to June 2024, prices for fruit and vegetables, and meat, poultry, and fish fell 16.% and 1.4% respectively.

Meanwhile restaurant and ready to eat meals had increased by 4%.

Food prices are finally coming down with the largest annual decrease in six years.

The Stats NZ Food Price Index was release on Thursday, here’s a breakdown of the numbers.

Food inflation, staff shortages, soaring interest rates, and patchy customer demand are all pushing hospitality into survival mode.

Six

The drop in food prices was the first annual decrease in six years - it had decreased 0.3% in the 12 months to June 2024.

“The decrease for food prices was driven by lower prices for tomatoes, cheese, and potatoes,” consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.

16.1%

In the 12 months to June 2024, prices for fruit and vegetables, and meat, poultry, and fish fell 16.% and 1.4% respectively.

“The decrease for fruit and vegetable prices is the largest recorded since the series began, as prices fell from the record-high level in June 2023,” Mitchell said.

4%

Meanwhile restaurant and ready to eat meals increased by 4%. Grocery food also increased 2.3%.

1961

But despite the annual fall in overall food prices, the price level is the third highest since the series began in 1961.

Food prices are finally dropping, according to Stats NZ.

Food prices increased 1.0 percent in June 2024 compared with May 2024.

“While food prices were cheaper in June 2024 than they were in June 2023, 11 of the past 12 months have actually had cheaper food prices than in June 2024,” Mitchell said.

$19.99

The average price of a 1-litre bottle of olive oil in New Zealand increased to $19.99, up 49.5% in the 12 months to June 2024.

Soft drinks had also increased in price with non-alcoholic beverages up 4.3%.

ASB senior economist Mark Smith told Stuff previously that food inflation had gone flat since a year ago and there were a number of driving factors including a considerable cooling in fruit and vegetable prices, a drop in global commodity food prices, a weak consumer environment and a lower minimum wage increase than unusual.