Avocados, strawberries drop in price
Cheaper avocados and strawberries have helped bring down July fruit prices. Avocado prices fell 29 per cent this month, coming off a near-record high in June, Statistics New Zealand said.
A punnet of strawberries is also a cheaper buy. The average price was $5.92, compared with $7.71 in June. The 5.2 per cent fruit price fall contributed to an overall 0.2 per cent drop in food prices, Stats NZ said.
Statistics New Zealand consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh said strawberries were ‘‘unseasonably cheap’’ for this time of year.
‘‘They typically reach their lowest price in December, but are currently dropping in price due to more imports from Australia.’’
Data from Stats NZ showed a 58 per cent increase in the quantity of strawberries brought into the country in June, compared to a year ago.
World of Fresh Produce distributor AJ Jina said Australia was having a ‘‘flush’’ at the moment, but inclement weather on the Queensland coast could jeopardise this.
‘‘We import billions of dollars of year worth of product from Queensland, not just strawberries melons, beans, even courgettes.’’
Arthur Rakich, a grower at Danube Orchards in Whenuapai, northwest of Auckland, said consumers would not see New Zealand strawberries on shelves until October, but it could be even later thanks to rainy weather.
Jina said ‘‘warm and wet’’ weather now could raise prices on strawberries three months down the line.
‘‘We need the winter to have some cold snaps as well.’’
Vegetable prices rose 1.6 per cent in July, driven by expensive cucumbers and tomatoes. Kumaras have reached a new record high price of $8.39 a kilogram, up 170 per cent from last year.
Buying ready-to-eat food is taking a bigger bite out of wallets, with the cost of prepared meals up 2.2 per cent on last year. A 2.5 per cent jump in the cost of restaurant meals was the largest annual increase since October 2013. It was not an inconsequential price jump, given how often New Zealanders eat out. Stats NZ found that out of every $100 New Zealanders spent on food, around $23 went on restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food.
Haigh said the increase in restaurant meals was likely thanks to high vegetable and dairy prices. Vegetable prices increased 12 per cent in the year to July, and were a big contributor to the 3 per cent annual increase in food prices. Grocery food prices increased 3.1 per cent, led by higher dairy prices, especially fresh milk.