New Zealand Food Prices Ease 0.1% In November

(RTTNews) - Food prices in New Zealand dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in November, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

That beat expectations for a fall of 0.2 percent and was unchanged from the October reading.

Unadjusted, food prices fell 0.4 percent last month.

Fruit and vegetable prices fell 2.6 percent (up 1.2 percent after seasonal adjustment), while meat, poultry, and fish prices fell 1.0 percent.

Grocery food prices rose 0.6 percent (up 0.2 percent after seasonal adjustment), while non-alcoholic beverage prices fell 0.6 percent and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 0.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, food prices jumped 2.3 percent - slowing from 2.7 percent in the previous month.

Fruit and vegetable prices increased 6.4 percent, while meat, poultry, and fish prices fell 0.2 percent.

Grocery food prices increased 2.4 percent, non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 0.9 percent and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased 2.4 percent.

Pumpkin prices increased 176 percent in the year to November 2017, to reach $5.78 a kilo, the highest price since the food price series began in December 1993.

Pumpkin and kumara are typically more expensive in November, but both hit record levels after larger-than-usual increases this year.

"Poor growing conditions due to the wet weather early this year had a huge impact on the supply of pumpkin and kumara," consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh said. "Pumpkin prices have reflected lower supply, with dramatic price increases in the last three months, while kumara prices increased more steadily through the year."

Kumara prices increased 83 percent in the year to November 2017, to reach a record of $8.99 a kilo. Kumara was $4.92 a kilo in November 2016. Potatoes, also a big contributor to the 6.3 percent increase in vegetable prices, increased 19 percent in the past year.