Annual food prices increased 1.2 percent in February 2021 which is the smallest annual increase since July 2019 when food prices increased 0.9 percent, Stats NZ said today.
This 1.2 percent increase was boosted by higher prices for eating out for lunch and some ethnic foods, such as Thai and Indian.
| Month | Percent |
| Feb-18 | 0.1 |
| Mar-18 | 1.4 |
| Apr-18 | 2.3 |
| May-18 | -0.1 |
| Jun-18 | 0.2 |
| Jul-18 | 1.1 |
| Aug-18 | -0.1 |
| Sep-18 | 0.1 |
| Oct-18 | 0.6 |
| Nov-18 | 0.4 |
| Dec-18 | 1 |
| Jan-19 | 0.8 |
| Feb-19 | 1.7 |
| Mar-19 | 1.2 |
| Apr-19 | 1 |
| May-19 | 1.7 |
| Jun-19 | 0.5 |
| Jul-19 | 0.9 |
| Aug-19 | 2.1 |
| Sep-19 | 2.2 |
| Oct-19 | 2.5 |
| Nov-19 | 2.4 |
| Dec-19 | 2.4 |
| Jan-20 | 3.5 |
| Feb-20 | 3.1 |
| Mar-20 | 3.3 |
| Apr-20 | 4.4 |
| May-20 | 2.9 |
| Jun-20 | 4.1 |
| Jul-20 | 4.2 |
| Aug-20 | 4.2 |
| Sep-20 | 3.1 |
| Oct-20 | 2.7 |
| Nov-20 | 2.6 |
| Dec-20 | 2.9 |
| Jan-21 | 2.1 |
| Feb-21 | 1.2 |
Annual food price inflation reached 4.4 percent in April 2020, the largest annual rise in more than eight years. This was when New Zealand was in level 4 COVID-19 lockdown and prices rose sharply for potatoes and fresh eggs, with high annual increases for a range of other foods, such as cheese and bread.
"Since April, the rate of annual food price inflation has slowed, but remained above 2.0 percent," consumer prices manager Katrina Dewbery said.
"Some food prices remain at high levels, but they are not increasing as fast as they were last year during the early stage of the pandemic."
The modest annual increase in overall food prices in February 2021 was influenced by higher prices for restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food, up 3.7 percent. Within this, lunch meals, consisting of cafes and restaurant lunch options, and ethnic foods, including Thai and Indian, were the main contributors.
This was partly offset by lower prices for meat, poultry, and fish, down 2.4 percent. The biggest contributor to this decrease was chicken pieces, down 9.0 percent in the past 12 months to February 2021.
"Prices for chicken pieces have trended down since the series began in August 2015," Mrs Dewbery said.
"Chicken is mostly for domestic markets, so is not as influenced by global trade prices as beef and lamb."
| | Feb-19 | Feb-20 | Feb-21 |
| Chicken pieces | 8.04 | 8.42 | 7.69 |
| Beef mince | 14.8 | 16.71 | 16.06 |
| Bacon 700g | 10.71 | 13.29 | 13.97 |
| Beef - porterhouse/sirloin | 31.35 | 30.91 | 30.12 |
| Pork chops | 15.99 | 15.62 | 14.46 |
"Chicken is also one of the cheaper meat options, at roughly half the price of beef mince and less than one-third of the cost of steak, it is the most popular meat choice with shoppers."
Big falls in apple prices help push monthly food inflation down
Apple prices fell 26 percent in February 2021, contributing to a fall in overall food prices of 0.9 percent in the month. This was partly offset by strawberry prices rising 27 percent.
"It is typical to see large price drops for apples and rises for strawberries as we reach the end of summer," Mrs Dewbery said.
"Last February apple prices fell 26 percent and strawberry prices rose 22 percent."
Tomato prices fell 14 percent in February, to the cheapest level in 12 years.
"Tomato prices are highly seasonal, typically falling in summer, but they reached an all-time high in August 2020," Mrs Dewbery said.
Other key monthly movers include:
- chocolate biscuits, down 11 percent
- grilling or frying beef, down 5.6 percent
- yoghurt, down 6.5 percent.
As well as strawberries, these falls were offset by price rises for cauliflower (up 38 percent) and grapes (up 12 percent).
