Shop around to take sting off vege hikes

The price of vegetables has increased this year but good buys are still to be found in Hawke's Bay. Jolene Williams reports.
IF YOU'RE balking at buying a sack of spuds this summer, you're not alone. The price of vegetables is up 6.3 per cent in the year to December and fruit isn't far behind at 4.6 per cent, latest figures from Statistics New Zealand have revealed.
Potatoes and avocados are the main culprits, with potatoes up 16.1 per cent and avocados 90 per cent.
Philip Young from Phil's Garden in Meeanee said last year a 10kg sack of potatoes cost $4 to $5, but the price had more than doubled this year.
Hastings potato grower Doug Whitfield said bad weather was the main cause of the price hike.
He said the cost of production had also "shot up dramatically" since an outbreak of psyllid insects lowered crop yields.
Mr Young said the current price, upwards of $10, better reflected the actual costs incurred such as labour, spraying and packaging.
New Zealand Avocado Growers' Association chairman John Schnackenberg said avocados were generally in good supply but were alternate bearing, and New Zealand was in an "off" year this season.
Consumers experienced "exceptionally low prices" last year and could expect the same again when the 2011/12 export season began in spring.
The price of tomatoes, too, was likely to be hurting shoppers. Many Australian crops were wiped out by the recent Queensland floods, giving room for New Zealand growers to fill the void.
Tomatoes New Zealand chairman Wim Zwart said it was a straightforward case of supply and demand. Prices go up when there's less produce to go around.
However, Mr Zwart expected prices to return to normal levels by May when Australia's autumn crops came through.
A Hawke's Bay Today survey taken last week, of six fruit and vegetable vendors and supermarkets, found there were bargains to be had if buyers were prepared to shop around.
Results were varied. Phil's Garden in Meeanee had the most expensive apricots at $6.99/kg, but shared top spot for the cheapest potatoes and carrots.
And while New World in Havelock North had the highest number of the most expensive surveyed items, it was the best place to buy a pineapple at $2.99 each, compared to $3.98 at Pak'n Save in Tamatea and Countdown in Hastings.
The biggest price difference was a 10kg bag of potatoes, with the cheapest at $9.99 at Phil's Garden and The Vege Shed compared to $17.99 at New World in Havelock North.
But as far as fulfilling the weekly produce needs, it was The Vege Shed on Havelock Rd that had consistently cheaper prices.
Supermarkets, however, had weekly in-store specials that were often hard to beat.
President of the Hawke's Bay branch of Diabetes New Zealand Beth Boag was one consumer who noticed the discrepancy of food and vegetable prices and decided to do more shopping at stalls.
While she knew the value of looking around, time-stretched shoppers bought what was quick and convenient and were more likely to pay the price.
For example, button mushrooms sold loose at Countdown in Hastings for $11.98 per/kg, while a pre-packaged bag equated to $14.30per/kg.
A Green Party survey last year reported New Zealand supermarkets were marking up fruit and vegetable prices up to 500 per cent.
Both supermarket chains Foodstuffs Co-operative Society and Progressive Enterprises disputed the claim.
Foodstuffs' general manager George Sutherland said the figure was more likely to be 30 per cent.
He agreed independent grocers could sometimes be cheaper.
Both companies attributed the higher cost of supermarket produce to additional costs, such as transportation, refrigeration, storage and packaging.
Mr Young said independent grocers were also dictated by supply and demand and not immune to additional costs.