Small increase in February Food Price Index

Food prices increased 0.2 percent in the February 2009 month, Statistics New Zealand said today. The most significant contribution to the increase came from the non-alcoholic beverages subgroup (up 1.7 percent), which was driven by higher prices for soft drinks (up 2.7 percent).

Other subgroups that made upward contributions were meat, poultry and fish (up 0.8 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 0.5 percent), and grocery food (up 0.3 percent).

The only subgroup to record a downward contribution in the February 2009 month was fruit and vegetables (down 2.6 percent), which was driven by lower prices for apples (down 27.4 percent).

For the year to February 2009, food prices rose by 8.8 percent. All five subgroups recorded upward contributions to the annual increase: grocery food (up 9.1 percent), meat, poultry and fish (up 11.0 percent), fruit and vegetables (up 12.1 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 6.1 percent), and non-alcoholic beverages (up 6.2 percent). Within these subgroups, the most significant upward contributions came from higher prices for ready-to-eat food (up 6.5 percent), bread (up 15.8 percent), restaurant meals (up 5.5 percent), and cakes and biscuits (up 13.9 percent).