High food prices leave a bad taste
The traditional Kiwi Christmas feast had an extra bite this year, with a rise in December in the prices of roast and barbecue staples.
Food prices overall were up 0.2 per cent in December compared with November, with big increases occurring in the prices of pumpkins, potatoes and sausages, Statistics New Zealand says. They increased 2.9 per cent in the year to December.
A shortage of pumpkins pushed prices up 74 per cent last month, with them selling for $19 each at Petone Pak’n Save.
Kiwis also paid more for their snarlers, with sausage prices up 6.2 per cent.
Export Meat Warehouse managing director Hamish Preston said the cost of meat trimmings used to make sausages had risen because of a pinch in supply.
‘‘We’ve had a very strange summer, and coming into summer, there’s been a lot of grass around. Farmers have beef on their farms, but they don’t need to get rid of it because they’ve got the grass to feed them. It’s been very wet.’’
Mutton, lamb and hogget prices dropped 4.7 per cent in December. Mr Preston said that reflected new-season lamb becoming available.
Statistics New Zealand said meat, poultry and fish prices on the whole increased 1.2 per cent in the month, with a 3.9 per cent rise in the price of fresh chicken pieces as a result of less discounting.
Overall, fruit and vegetable prices increased 2.5 per cent in December, after spiking sharply in the middle of the year because of a wet winter and the Queensland floods, and then falling for four months in a row.
Foodstuffs Wellington spokesman George Sutherland said produce prices that had increased as a result of supply issues were returning to usual seasonal levels.
Bread prices increased by 1.3 per cent during the month, while fresh milk dipped 0.1 per cent and cheese fell 1.4 per cent.
Non-alcoholic drink prices fell 2.5 per cent, thanks to falls in soft-drink and fruit-juice prices.
In the year to December, fruit and vegetables showed the only price decrease of the five categories measured, down 0.9 per cent.