increase font size
Grocery food prices led the annual price increases, up 7.9%.
Food prices in New Zealand were 6.3% higher than a year ago but were cheaper in October 2023 than they were a month earlier, according to figures from Stats NZ.
In October 2023, the annual increase was due to price rises across the five broad food categories measured by Stats NZ.
Price movements for all five groups for the 12 months to October 2023 were: grocery food (up 7.9%), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 7.7%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 5.7%), meat, poultry, and fish (up 3.3%), and fruit and vegetables (up 3.3%).
“The largest contributing food group was grocery food, mainly driven by higher prices for fresh eggs, potato crisps, and yoghurt,” says consumer prices manager James Mitchell.
However, monthly food prices fell 0.9% in October 2023 compared with September 2023. After adjusting for seasonal effects, they fell 0.1%.
“Prices fell across the board in October, with only dining out and takeaway food being more expensive than in September,” says Mitchell.
The fruit and vegetable subgroup was the largest contributor to the monthly fall, followed by grocery food.
The grocery items that contributed the most to the monthly fall were cheese, white bread, and muesli bars.
Kiwis love their butter, and that's great because New Zealand produces some of the best butter in the world. But when the price of butter goes up, it's tough for some, particularly when many other grocery staples have also gone up and the heat goes on co-operative Fonterra, the country's main butter maker. Here the co-op explains why butter prices are so high right now.
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.
OPINION: It's not happening as fast as the greenies would like - they actually want all livestock other than Muscovy ducks and Tibetan Llamas to disappear entirely - but it is happening.
Emissions by dairy cattle decreased by 1.6% according to the latest NZ Greenhouse Gas Inventory report.
A new international study serves as a stark warning for New Zealanders: our health and wellbeing are in our hands, and increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables is a key step to reducing the pressure on our healthcare system.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
