Vegetable prices down again

Food prices decreased 0.2 percent in December 2008, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The most significant contribution to the decrease came from the fruit and vegetables subgroup (down 3.9 percent), driven by lower prices for tomatoes (down 48.4 percent), broccoli (down 45.3 percent), and lettuce
(down 17.7 percent). These decreases were partly offset by higher prices for apples (up 22.1 percent) and
kiwifruit (up 27.8 percent).

The main upward contribution to the food price index came from higher prices for the grocery food subgroup
(up 0.9 percent) in the December 2008 month. Within the subgroup, the main contributors were bread (up
3.7 percent), and cakes and biscuits (up 2.2 percent).

For the year to December 2008, food prices rose by 9.1 percent. All five subgroups recorded upward
contributions to the annual increase: grocery food (up 11.0 percent), meat, poultry and fish (up 11.1
percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 6.1 percent), fruit and vegetables (up 8.7 percent), and
non-alcoholic beverages (up 5.6 percent). Within these subgroups, higher prices were recorded for ready-to
-eat food (up 6.9 percent), bread (up 20.2 percent), cakes and biscuits (up 14.0 percent), and restaurant
meals (up 5.2 percent).

Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician

END

See also the Hot Off The Press information release Food Price Index: December 2008.