Grocery prices fall in February

Food prices fell 1.3 per cent in February, with prices for fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and groceries all falling from January.

Last month's decline took the annual rise in food prices to just 0.7 per cent , the lowest annual rise in nearly five years, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.

Food prices are 9.6 per cent  higher than two years ago.

Prices in the fruit and vegetable subgroup fell 3.5 per cent  last month, with apples down 26.6 per cent  as the new season's crop became more widely available, and potatoes down 11.4 per cent .

Tomatoes were up 12.2 per cent  and strawberries up 36.3 per cent .

The meat, poultry and fish subgroup decreased 2.4 per cent  in February, with porterhouse/sirloin steak down 17.6 per cent  to a level last seen in August 2007. Minced beef did rise, up 5.2 per cent , but chicken prices fell 4.4 per cent , SNZ said.

Grocery food dropped 0.8 per cent  from January while non-alcoholic beverages were down 1.9 per cent.

Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food was unchanged.

For the year to February, fruit and vegetable prices were down 1.9 per cent , including potatoes down 20.1 per cent  and kiwifruit down 31.1 per cent , while tomato prices rose 31.3 per cent .

Meat, poultry and fish prices edged down 0.2 per cent  for the year, with porterhouse/sirloin steak down 11.1 per cent  and chicken down 5 per cent , while lamb chops were up 20.7 per cent  and sausages up 13.7 per cent.

Grocery food lifted 0.6 per cent  over the year, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food was up 2.2 per cent , and non-alcoholic beverages lifted 2.5 per cent . Sugar prices were up 38 per cent  over the year.

- NZPA