Soaring food prices affecting Rotorua residents

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Rotorua residents are feeling the pinch with rising food bills prompting advice to shop around, spend smarter and grow their own produce.

New figures released by Statistics NZ yesterday show food prices increased 2.2 per cent in the year to February, with vegetables up 12 per cent. It was the largest overall increase year on year since 2011.

Fruit and vegetables combined were up 7.7 per cent and grocery food was up 2.3 per cent. Meat, poultry, and fish went down 2 per cent.

Elmer Peiffer, from Rotorua Love Soup, said his group had an increasing number of families coming to it for food.

"Everything is going up except for income," he said.

"People are missing out on things that are actually necessities. I bet the sales of things like two minute noodles is really going up."

Love Soup had seen an increase in referrals and Facebook messages asking for food, he said.

"They don't even bother going to the supermarket, they're using other services because it's just too expensive."

Rising vegetable prices were led by higher prices for kumara, tomatoes and carrots, which hit an all-time high.

A kilogram of carrots cost $3.53 in February, compared with $2.34 a year ago.

With vegetables seeing the highest increase Mr Peiffer said they were one of the last things on people's shopping lists.

Pardeep Banwait, manager at Fruit Monster Lake Rd, said all retailers were in the same boat.

"Fresh produce is always a fragile business," he said.

"When the season rolls over it all depends on the weather and this year the weather was on and off. So things like apples came out a month late."

His advice to locals who were struggling with the increase was to shop around.

"Some places will be running special deals on certain produce."

Rick Mansell, manager at Linton Park Community Centre, encouraged people to use the allotment spaces available at local community centres.

"We've got space for 106 different people or families and this year only 80 were full," he said.

"Long term people need to be looking at every possible way to become more self-sufficient."

Mr Mansell said it was not easy being nutritionally conscious on a strict budget, so growing your own fresh produce could help.

"A number of our families, the parents go without food two to three days a week to be able to feed their children," he said.

However, a Rotorua Budget Advisory Services spokesman, who did not wish to be named, said they had not noticed an impact.

"People have always struggled with buying food," he said.

"The money has to come from somewhere, so people just have to make stronger decisions on how they spend their money."

Statistics NZ consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh said it was the largest annual increase in food prices since December 2011.

"Five hundred grams of the cheapest available butter cost on average $4.58 this month, compared with $4.06 last month and $3.45 a year ago," he said.

A Countdown New Zealand spokesman said there had been "some higher seasonal prices this month" but that overall its prices were trending downward.

"Higher seasonal prices on certain fruits and vegetables contributed to the increase, while the rise in dairy products reflected the higher global commodity prices farmers are seeing."