Food prices are up 12.1% in March 2023 compared to March last year, Stats NZ said in its latest food price index.
Prices were up in all the broad categories it looks at, consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.
Grocery food prices were up 14%; fruit and vegetables 22%; restaurant and ready meals 8.7; meat, poultry and fish 7.8%; and non-alcoholic drinks 8.2%.
Grocery foods were a larger contributor than fruit and vegetables to the increase as people tend to spend more on grocery foods than they do on the latter.
Eggs rose a huge 64%, six-pack yoghurt rose 22% and potato chips were up 17%. Mitchell said these three items were the largest drivers of the increase within grocery food.
Higher prices for tomatoes, potatoes and avocados drove the increase in fruit and vegetables.
Monthly food prices rose 0.8% in March compared to February – with the seasonally adjusted increase 0.5%.
"The 2.3% increase in grocery food was the largest contributor to the monthly movement. Within this group, the items having the greatest impact were barn or cage-raised eggs, six-pack yoghurt, and boxed chocolates," Mitchell said.
Meat, poultry, and fish were down 1%.
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