New data: Grocery prices push food bills higher in April

A trolley of groceries at Countdown Supermarket, Quay St, Auckland, February 2022. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Food price inflation remained high in April following its 10-year high last month, StatsNZ said today.

Food prices were 6.4 per cent higher in April 2022 compared with April 2021. This was due to rises across all food categories.

Grocery food was the largest contributor to this movement, mainly due to increases in the price of cheddar cheese, milk and eggs, although some individual categories rose by more.

Fruit and vegetable prices increased 9.4 per cent and meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 8.1 per cent.

Overall grocery food prices increased 6.4 per cent, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased 5.3 per cent and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 2.8 per cent.

On a monthly basis fruit and vegetables fell 3.1 per cent from March 2022 to April 2022, mainly due to falls in the price of broccoli, lettuce and kiwifruit.

Overall monthly food prices were 0.1 per cent higher in April 2022 compared with March 2022.

The increase was not unexpected with the overall Consumer Price Index sitting at 6.9 per cent for the year to March.

"Inflation of food prices has generally been increasing since a low of 0.5 per cent in the year to March 2021," consumer prices manager Katrina Dewbery said.

"This followed a period from October 2011 when food price annual inflation was mostly under 2.5 per cent."

This week Foodstuffs, supermarket operator of Pak'nSave, New World and Four Square, announced plans to cut the price of food by an average of 10 per cent across 110 of its most-shopped grocery items.

Meanwhile rival supermarket chain Countdown said it would freeze current market prices on more than 500 essential grocery items through winter.