Food prices rose 0.5 percent in September 2021 compared with August 2021, mainly influenced by higher prices for grocery food and meat, poultry, and fish, Stats NZ said today.
| Month | Percent |
| Sep-18 | -0.1 |
| Oct-18 | -0.6 |
| Nov-18 | -0.6 |
| Dec-18 | -0.2 |
| Jan-19 | 1 |
| Feb-19 | 0.4 |
| Mar-19 | 0.5 |
| Apr-19 | -0.1 |
| May-19 | 0.7 |
| Jun-19 | -0.7 |
| Jul-19 | 1.1 |
| Aug-19 | 0.7 |
| Sep-19 | 0 |
| Oct-19 | -0.3 |
| Nov-19 | -0.7 |
| Dec-19 | -0.2 |
| Jan-20 | 2.1 |
| Feb-20 | 0 |
| Mar-20 | 0.7 |
| Apr-20 | 1 |
| May-20 | -0.8 |
| Jun-20 | 0.5 |
| Jul-20 | 1.2 |
| Aug-20 | 0.7 |
| Sep-20 | -1 |
| Oct-20 | -0.7 |
| Nov-20 | -0.9 |
| Dec-20 | 0.1 |
| Jan-21 | 1.3 |
| Feb-21 | -0.9 |
| Mar-21 | 0 |
| Apr-21 | 1.1 |
| May-21 | 0.4 |
| Jun-21 | 1.4 |
| Jul-21 | 1.3 |
| Aug-21 | 0.3 |
| Sep-21 | 0.5 |
September's movement is the sixth consecutive monthly rise. After adjusting for seasonality, prices rose 0.9 percent.
Grocery food prices were up 0.8 percent in September, mainly influenced by higher prices for fresh eggs (up 12 percent), chocolate biscuits (up 6.1 percent), and sweets (up 3.2 percent).
"The weighted average price of cage or barn-raised eggs rose sharply to $5.22 a dozen, up from $4.65 in August," consumer prices manager Katrina Dewbery said.
"Egg prices previously peaked at $4.81 a dozen in July 2021."
Meat, poultry, and fish prices rose 1.8 percent, influenced by higher prices for chicken pieces (up 10 percent) and roasting pork (up 8.7 percent).
Fruit and vegetable prices fall
Fruit and vegetable prices fell in September 2021, down 1.5 percent, largely due to falling prices for cucumbers (down 33 percent), capsicums (down 28 percent), and lettuce (down 21 percent). These were partly offset by rising prices for tomatoes (up 3.0 percent), apples (up 7.0 percent), and pineapples (up 15 percent).
| Cucumbers | Capsicums | Tomatoes | |
| Sep-16 | 8.95 | 13.34 | 9.63 |
| Oct-16 | 8.11 | 13.27 | 6.83 |
| Nov-16 | 5.74 | 13.18 | 3.39 |
| Dec-16 | 4.15 | 11.26 | 3.32 |
| Jan-17 | 4.69 | 12.05 | 3.35 |
| Feb-17 | 4.93 | 12.36 | 3.64 |
| Mar-17 | 5.84 | 12.46 | 3.82 |
| Apr-17 | 8.4 | 14.9 | 5.54 |
| May-17 | 9.34 | 15.78 | 8.03 |
| Jun-17 | 10.05 | 17.58 | 8.69 |
| Jul-17 | 14.97 | 18.52 | 9.5 |
| Aug-17 | 16.18 | 20.64 | 10.42 |
| Sep-17 | 9.69 | 14.68 | 10.02 |
| Oct-17 | 6.04 | 10.37 | 7.68 |
| Nov-17 | 5.51 | 10.08 | 4.32 |
| Dec-17 | 5.11 | 10.09 | 3.32 |
| Jan-18 | 5.57 | 10.5 | 2.98 |
| Feb-18 | 5.27 | 9.99 | 2.86 |
| Mar-18 | 6.55 | 11.84 | 4.65 |
| Apr-18 | 6.85 | 11.83 | 6.54 |
| May-18 | 9.39 | 13.67 | 6.11 |
| Jun-18 | 17.68 | 18.01 | 6.31 |
| Jul-18 | 14.33 | 20 | 8.18 |
| Aug-18 | 12.6 | 18.74 | 10.45 |
| Sep-18 | 7.35 | 12.84 | 8.89 |
| Oct-18 | 6.34 | 10.59 | 6.9 |
| Nov-18 | 4.65 | 10.06 | 3.56 |
| Dec-18 | 4.63 | 9.95 | 2.73 |
| Jan-19 | 4.42 | 10.28 | 2.79 |
| Feb-19 | 6.4 | 10.7 | 3.62 |
| Mar-19 | 7.28 | 11.59 | 5.2 |
| Apr-19 | 7.28 | 12.17 | 5.35 |
| May-19 | 8.14 | 16.24 | 5.69 |
| Jun-19 | 13.19 | 16.9 | 5.28 |
| Jul-19 | 12.09 | 18.46 | 6.59 |
| Aug-19 | 10.88 | 17.46 | 9.96 |
| Sep-19 | 9.39 | 11.74 | 9.22 |
| Oct-19 | 6.51 | 10.04 | 6.96 |
| Nov-19 | 5 | 9.22 | 3.44 |
| Dec-19 | 4.87 | 8.65 | 3.69 |
| Jan-20 | 4.73 | 10.13 | 3.35 |
| Feb-20 | 4.78 | 11.77 | 3.55 |
| Mar-20 | 7.63 | 13.33 | 3.76 |
| Apr-20 | 7.46 | 16.65 | 3.8 |
| May-20 | 8.33 | 17.35 | 6.15 |
| Jun-20 | 14.13 | 20.72 | 7.81 |
| Jul-20 | 18.63 | 21.92 | 9.86 |
| Aug-20 | 15.1 | 21.59 | 13.65 |
| Sep-20 | 10.9 | 14.17 | 13.26 |
| Oct-20 | 7.71 | 11.85 | 8.18 |
| Nov-20 | 6.71 | 9.91 | 3.99 |
| Dec-20 | 6.25 | 8.56 | 3.33 |
| Jan-21 | 4.77 | 10.38 | 2.94 |
| Feb-21 | 5.46 | 11.83 | 2.54 |
| Mar-21 | 8.25 | 13.07 | 2.98 |
| Apr-21 | 12.41 | 14.63 | 6.34 |
| May-21 | 11.06 | 19.07 | 7.38 |
| Jun-21 | 16.79 | 24.16 | 11.19 |
| Jul-21 | 17.66 | 25.25 | 13.56 |
| Aug-21 | 16.87 | 22.3 | 15.79 |
| Sep-21 | 11.26 | 15.97 | 16.27 |
"In the last few years, tomato prices have tended to peak in August before falling slightly in September," Mrs Dewbery said.
"This September, tomato prices rose slightly to a weighted average price of $16.27 per kilogram, up from $15.79 in August."
Overall, fruit and vegetable prices did not drop as much as they typically do in September. After adjusting for seasonal effects, fruit and vegetable prices rose 2.3 percent in September.
Largest annual increase in over a year
Annually, food prices increased 4.0 percent in September 2021, mostly due to higher prices for fruit and vegetables (up 9.3 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 4.6 percent), and grocery food (up 2.9 percent).
September's annual movement is the largest since August 2020, when prices increased 4.2 percent.
The annual increase in fruit and vegetable prices was mainly influenced by higher prices for tomatoes (up 23 percent), lettuce (up 52 percent), and grapes (up 28 percent). These were partly offset by decreasing prices for kumara (down 44 percent) and avocados (down 34 percent).
