Grocery prices keep going up

WELLINGTON: At many supermarkets, tomatoes cost $15 per kilogram.

A bag of potato chips is $1.50, and a litre of soft drink is 90c.

For many families, the choice is obvious. Why get a bag of vegetables, when you could get 10 bags of chips, or 16 litres of fizzy?

The cost of food increased by 8.3% since last August, according to Stats NZ’s food price index.

Auckland University of Technology emeritus professor of nutrition Elaine Rush said the issue was a compounding disaster.

‘‘It’s not just food that’s going up; it’s petrol and mortgages,’’ she said.

‘‘Other influences, such as climate change and the war in Ukraine, are affecting our food supply. It could be the beginning of a downward spiral.’’

Prof Rush was not alone in her caution. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen did not expect to see a price drop.

He said price tags continued to outpace wages, even as unemployment remained low.

‘‘That 8.3% increase highlights that, although some people are getting pay rises, at the moment those inflationary pressures continue to move ahead of what most households can earn,’’ he said. But the 8.3% figure was not across the board.

Some foods, such as fruit and vegetables, are nearly 15% higher than last year.

‘‘A lot of our fresh produce is continuing to increase in price,’’ Mr Olsen said.

‘‘Partially down to weather, but also we’re seeing huge cost increases that are hitting our farmers and horticulturalists.’’

But in the next aisle, the price tags on soft drinks had increased less than 4% .

Mr Olsen said the enormous price disparity was pushing people into unhealthy lifestyles.

Prof Rush warned the issue could have a longterm impact on the health system.