Lower prices for fruit and vegetables were behind a decrease in food prices of 0.3 per cent in the October 2008 month, Statistics New Zealand said today.
Government Statistician Geoff Bascand said the decrease was mainly due to fruit and vegetables, the group was down 6 per cent,driven by lower prices for lettuce, which were down 50.7 per cent, and tomatoes, down 24.9 per cent.
These decreases were partly offset by higher prices for potatoes, which were up 20.6 per cent.
The main upward contribution to the food price index came from higher prices for the meat, poultry and fish subgroup, up 2.4 per cent, in the October 2008 month.
Within the subgroup, the main contributors were beef, up 5.4 per cent, and prepared meats and smallgoods, which were up 6.0 per cent.
Prices for grocery food were up 0.6 per cent, mainly due to higher prices for bread (up 3.2 per cent), which were offset by lower prices for cheddar cheese, down 4 per cent.
For the year to October 2008, food prices rose by 9.9 per cent.
All five subgroups recorded upward contributions to the annual increase: grocery food (up 11.9 per cent), meat, poultry and fish (up 11 per cent), fruit and vegetables (up 12.5 per cent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 6.4 per cent), and non-alcoholic beverages (up 4.7 per cent).
Within these subgroups, individual higher prices were recorded for cheddar cheese (up 39.2 per cent) and potatoes (up 41.7 per cent).
