Have you cut back on buying fruit and vegetables?

11:41 AM Wednesday Jul 13, 2011

The Queensland floods are being blamed for a massive increase in the cost of tomatoes, capsicums and cucumber during June.

The latest Statistics New Zealand Food Price Index shows food prices were up 1.4 per cent, led by a 12.2 per cent increase in the fruit and vegetables subgroup.

Statistics New Zealand said the sharp rise in the cost of fruit and vegetables was led by a 56.9 per cent rise in the cost of tomatoes, capsicums (up 43.7 per cent), and cucumber (up 35.6 per cent).

Have you cut back on buying fruit and vegetables? Here is the latest selection of Your Views:

Nomad (New Zealand) | 01:17PM Wednesday, 13 Jul 2011

Are these companies out of their minds. I for one, will have to cut back from buying produce that has a high price. We have already cut back in purchasing meat, because has become soo expensive.

I guess this is what happens when monopolies rule. Same the government has no teeth or the will to stop this rape of nz consumers.

leanne wech (New Zealand) | 01:17PM Wednesday, 13 Jul 2011

I still buy fruit and vegetables, yes, but not those fruit and vegetables
that have been hiked up in price.

I noticed the lovely large red piled up high tomatoe display on Saturday at Pak & Save along with their notice of apology for the even larger price of those tomatoes, it appeared to me that no one was buying them, in fact most trolleys were swerving that area like it was a hazardous area.

I wondered if any one would really buy them, and whether or not most of the tomatoes would perish before being sold in a time frame that means the goods are still fresh.

I brought a few cans of tomatoes at a fraction of the price, I will not support such high prices, floods or not.

Living in Oz (Queensland) | 01:17PM Wednesday, 13 Jul 2011

I don't understand why they are blaming Queensland floods. I live in Queensland and I'm not paying $16 a kg for tomatoes (Foodtown), it's more like $6 per kg here. Why the excessive increase? It seems to me that any excuse is used to increase prices. Apart from bananas I have not noticed any excessive increase in the cost of any fresh food items in Queensland shops.