Price rises for potato crisps and crackers were offset by falls for apples and boxed chocolates, with overall food
prices flat in February 2020, Stats NZ said today.
“Entertaining became more expensive in February as the price of snack foods rose. Potato crisps rose 7.5 percent in
February 2020, while crackers were up 12 percent,” consumer prices manager Sarah Johnson said.
These rises contributed to a 3.6 percent rise in snack food prices. Cheese prices, including those for large blocks and
fancy cheese, rose 4.1 percent.
Strawberries also saw a typical seasonal price rise, up 22 percent.Monthly falls for apples and boxed chocolates
Apple prices fell 26 percent in February 2020 to a weighted average price of $3.44 per kilo.
“Apple prices generally peak in January and begin to fall again in February as new season produce hits the shelves,” Mrs
Johnson said.
Prices for boxed chocolates also fell, down 23 percent in February to a weighted average price of $6.79 per 250 grams.
“Prices for boxed chocolates often fall in February when they are on special for Valentine’s Day. It’s also common to
see price falls in December ahead of Christmas and in May for Mother’s Day,” Mrs Johnson said.Honey prices fall
Clover honey prices dropped 19 percent in the year ended February 2020 to a weighted average price of $8.20 per 500
grams.
The decrease comes after the Ministry for Primary Industries introduced new definitions for mānuka honey in December
2017.
“The new definitions ensure that mānuka honey produced for export is indeed premium New Zealand mānuka honey,” Mrs
Johnson said.
“This has increased the supply of non-mānuka honey, as previously the surplus would have been used as mānuka blend
honey. Coupled with an increase in global honey production, these factors have put strong downward pressure on clover
honey prices.”
Clover honey prices have dropped 27 percent since December 2017 when the new definitions were introduced, after rising
steadily in the three years before that.Meat and dairy push annual food prices up 3.1 percent
Overall food prices increased 3.1 percent in the year ended February 2020.
“Meat prices, especially for beef and for preserved products such as bacon, rose sharply in the past year and had a
large impact on annual food prices,” Mrs Johnson said.
“While coronavirus could impact on international demand and prices for meat, the current annual increases are still
showing the impact of higher export demand for New Zealand meat products in 2019, pushing prices up in supermarkets
here, too.”
Meat export prices hit record high has more on recent beef export statistics.
Increasing prices for dairy products also contributed to the annual increase in food prices.
In the February 2020 year, significant price rises for meat and dairy included those for:
.bacon – up 24 percent to a weighted average price of $13.29 per 700 gramscheddar cheese – up 13 percent to a weighted average price of $10.32 per kilobeef mince – up 13 percent to a weighted average price of $16.71 per kilosausages – up 13 percent to a weighted average price of $10.96 per kilostandard milk – up 4.6 percent to a weighted average price of $3.64 per 2 litres.
These increases were partly offset by decreasing prices for onions (down 14 percent), 350 millilitre energy drinks (down
9.7 percent), and iceberg lettuce (down 17 percent).The Government Statistician authorises all statistics and data we publish.For more information about these statistics:Visit Food price index: February 2020See CSV files for download