(RTTNews) - New Zealand’s food prices grew at a slower pace in September, a report by Statistics New Zealand said Tuesday.

Food prices rose 0.6% month-on-month in September, slower than the 2.7% increase in August.

In September, the main contributor to the rise in food price was a 3.7% increase in prices of meat, poultry and fish sub group. Within this group, prices of pork were up 11.9%, beef 6.8% and fresh chicken 5.8%.

Higher prices of grocery food, restaurant meals and ready to eat foods and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to price rise. Prices of yogurt rose 11.6% and made a significant contribution to the rise in food prices.

On the other hand, prices of fruits and vegetables declined 2.2%, after registering increases in the past four months due to wet weather. In August, fruits and vegetable prices rose 9.6%. In this group, prices of lettuce declined 20.6%, and cucumber dropped 43.4%, but prices of tomatoes were up 16.3%.

On an annual basis, food prices rose 10.8% in September compared with a 10.6% increase in August. The September increase represented the highest rise in food prices since April 1990, when it rose 11.4%.

Grocery prices moved up 12.8% and were the main contributor to the year-on-year rise. In this sub group, cheddar cheese prices increased 61.6%, butter 89.1%, bread 16.5% and fresh milk were up 12.6%.

Moreover, fruits and vegetable prices rose 17.9%, and meat, fish and poultry 8.8%. Restaurant and ready to eat meals were up 6.3%, while non-alcoholic beverages rose 6.9%.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, New Zealand, Releases.

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