New Zealand food prices rose in January, as apples surged to a record high, leading gains in fruit and vegetables.
Food prices rose 0.9%, seasonally adjusted, in January from December, and gained 1.4% from January 2016, Statistics New Zealand said. On an unadjusted basis, food prices climbed 2.8% in the latest month.
Fruit and vegetables led gains in both the month and the year, up 8.5% (unadjusted) and 3.1% respectively. Apples, which have been in short supply in supermarkets, were an average $5.04 a kilogram in January, from $3.60 a kg in December, reaching their highest price since the series began. Fruit prices jumped 12%, or 2.9% seasonally adjusted, while vegetables gained 5.9%, or 1.4% seasonally adjusted, with gains in potatoes, broccoli and carrots.
The Food Price Index accounts for about 19% of the Consumer Price Index, which is the Reserve Bank’s mandated inflation target when setting interest rates. The central bank expects inflation to accelerate to a 1.5% annual pace in the first quarter, having returned to within its 1%-to-3% target band for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter.
Prices of meat, poultry and fish rose 2.4% in January, with lamb up 11% and chicken rising 4%, but fell 1.1% from the same month last year. Chicken prices fell 7.2% in the year and have declined annually since June 2015.
Grocery foods rose 2.4%, or 1.4% seasonally adjusted, in January and increased 1.8% from a year earlier. Chocolate prices gained 14% in the month and fresh milk rose 4.4%.
Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 0.2% in the month and 1.8% in the year.
- Jonathan Underhill
