Annual food price increase hits 14-year high

Stats NZ consumer prices senior manager Nicola Growden says it’s the highest annual increase since November 2008.

The increases were due to rises across all the broad food categories measured when compared to October 2021, including grocery food (up 9.7%), fruit and vegetables (up 17%), and meat, poultry and fish (up 10%).

Grocery food was the largest contributor to the movement, Growden says.

“Increased prices for barn-raised eggs, cheddar cheese, and two-minute noodles were the largest drivers within grocery food,” she says.

The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables.

Monthly food prices were 0.8 percent higher in October 2022 compared with September 2022. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they were up 1.8%. Fruit and vegetable prices fell 5.2%, but after seasonal adjustment rose 1.3%.

“Previous patterns of seasonal price movement for fruit and vegetables suggest it’s more typical to see a larger fall in fruit and vegetables for the October month,” Growden says.

A Countdown spokesperson told Rural News the supermarket had seen record numbers of cost increases from suppliers on their products.

“We, and our supply partners, are trying to hold, mitigate and offset these cost increases wherever possible, but the reality is we can’t absorb all the inflation we’re seeing.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep food prices as affordable as possible and we’re absolutely focused on delivering affordable options for customers as we head into the holiday season,” they said.

Meanwhile, the National Party is calling for action from the Government.

“There is no escaping these eye-watering prices. For parents cooking dinner at home for their kids, they face produce prices climbing 17 per cent, and meat prices increasing 10 per cent. The cost of eating out isn’t much better, with prices up by 7.5 per cent,” says National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis.

She says that instead of coming up with a plan to combat inflation, the Government has put blame on supermarkets, petrol companies, banks, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

“It is clear that widespread labour shortages are having an impact on driving up the grocery bill for Kiwis. The Government must urgently fix their broken immigration settings that are pushing up prices across the economy,” she says.