Prices paid by New Zealand producers dropped in the March quarter while their returns rose, according to Statistics New Zealand's Producers Price Index.
Prices of goods leaving the farm and factory gate -- the producers' output prices -- were up 0.4 per cent for the three months to March, compared withno change expected by economists.
Prices of inward goods, the producer's input prices, fell slightly, by 0.1 per cent compared with an expected 0.1 per cent rise.
That was the third fall in input prices for the last three March quarters.
Higher energy costs, largely from a new pricing structure for retailers, contributed to the rise in outputs, which was up 3.1 per cent compared with March 2001.
Electricity prices for commercial and residential consumers rose for the quarter, with commercial consumers paying 4.1 per cent more than in the December quarter.
Higher prices for logs in the domestic market, a rise in the price of unprocessed primary products and higher prices for wool also drove the outputs index up, SNZ said.
However, lower prices for vegetables, bulls and steers resulted in a drop in prices paid to the livestock and crop farming sectors.
Lower prices manufacturers paid for meat -- sheep, cattle and lamb -- and lower prices in air transport led the fall in input prices, which were nevertheless up by 2.8 per cent for the year. Deer prices fell 22.6 per cent for the quarter, and sheep and lamb prices dropped 2.4 per cent.
