For the first time in nearly six years, food prices have fallen from levels of a year earlier.Figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) today showed a 0.7% fall in food prices last month helped food prices for the year to May fall 0.5% -- the first annual
For the first time in nearly six years, food prices have fallen from levels of a year earlier.
Figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) today showed a 0.7% fall in food prices last month helped food prices for the year to May fall 0.5% -- the first annual fall since the year to July 2004.
In the year to May, prices in both the meat, poultry, and fish category, and the fruit and vegetables category fell 4.5%.
Prices for the meat, poultry, and fish subgroup had now returned to levels last seen in September 2008 and were 7.1% lower than their peak in 2009, SNZ said.
Fruit and vegetable prices had been falling on an annual basis for nearly a year.
Fresh chicken prices fell 11.5% over the year, porterhouse/sirloin beef steak fell 10.6%, bacon fell 7.4% and bananas were down 9.1%.
Price rises over the year included a 6.8% lift in soft drink prices, a 5.1% lift in fresh milk, 28.9% lift in butter, and 9.9% gain in cheddar cheese.
The 0.7% fall in food prices last month followed a 0.5% fall in April and a 0.2% rise in March.
In May, prices in the meat, poultry, and fish subgroup fell 2.4%, with porterhouse/sirloin beef steak down 16.2%, and fresh chicken down 5%, both influenced by discounting.
Grocery food prices fell 0.7% in May, largely due to a 5.8% fall in prices for potato crisps, and a 4.4% fall in chocolate bars and blocks.
But butter and cheddar cheese prices were on the rise, having increased 51.1% and 13.6%, respectively, during the past five months, SNZ said.
Fruit and vegetable prices fell 2.1% in May, with mandarin prices down 34.7% and kiwifruit prices down 49.4%.
Kiwifruit and mandarin prices typically fall in May as the fruit becomes more plentiful.
