Food prices in New Zealand are 4.8 percent higher than a year ago, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
| “Month ended” | “Food price index” |
| “Dec-20” | 2.9 |
| “Jan-21” | 2.1 |
| “Feb-21” | 1.2 |
| “Mar-21” | 0.5 |
| “Apr-21” | 0.7 |
| “May-21” | 1.8 |
| “Jun-21” | 2.8 |
| “Jul-21” | 2.8 |
| “Aug-21” | 2.4 |
| “Sep-21” | 4 |
| “Oct-21” | 3.7 |
| “Nov-21” | 4 |
| “Dec-21” | 4.5 |
| “Jan-22” | 5.9 |
| “Feb-22” | 6.8 |
| “Mar-22” | 7.6 |
| “Apr-22” | 6.4 |
| “May-22” | 6.8 |
| “Jun-22” | 6.6 |
| “Jul-22” | 7.4 |
| “Aug-22” | 8.3 |
| “Sep-22” | 8.3 |
| “Oct-22” | 10.1 |
| “Nov-22” | 10.7 |
| “Dec-22” | 11.3 |
| “Jan-23” | 10.3 |
| “Feb-23” | 12 |
| “Mar-23” | 12.1 |
| “Apr-23” | 12.5 |
| “May-23” | 12.1 |
| “Jun-23” | 12.5 |
| “Jul-23” | 9.6 |
| “Aug-23” | 8.9 |
| “Sep-23” | 8 |
| “Oct-23” | 6.3 |
| “Nov-23” | 6 |
| “Dec-23” | 4.8 |
In December 2023, the annual increase was due to price rises across the five broad food categories measured by Stats NZ. Price movements for all five groups for the 12 months to December 2023, in order of their contribution to the overall movement, were:
- restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices – increased 7.1 percent
- grocery food prices – increased 5.4 percent
- non-alcoholic beverage prices – increased 5.5 percent
- meat, poultry, and fish prices – increased 2.3 percent
- fruit and vegetable prices – increased 1.5 percent.
“The largest contribution to the annual change was restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food, mainly driven by higher prices for dine-in meals and takeaways,” consumers prices manager James Mitchell said.
Monthly food prices fall for the fourth month in a row
| “Month ended” | “Food price index” |
| “Dec-20” | 0.1 |
| “Jan-21” | 1.3 |
| “Feb-21” | -0.9 |
| “Mar-21” | 0 |
| “Apr-21” | 1.1 |
| “May-21” | 0.4 |
| “Jun-21” | 1.4 |
| “Jul-21” | 1.3 |
| “Aug-21” | 0.3 |
| “Sep-21” | 0.5 |
| “Oct-21” | -0.9 |
| “Nov-21” | -0.6 |
| “Dec-21” | 0.6 |
| “Jan-22” | 2.7 |
| “Feb-22” | -0.1 |
| “Mar-22” | 0.7 |
| “Apr-22” | 0.1 |
| “May-22” | 0.7 |
| “Jun-22” | 1.2 |
| “Jul-22” | 2.1 |
| “Aug-22” | 1.1 |
| “Sep-22” | 0.4 |
| “Oct-22” | 0.8 |
| “Nov-22” | 0 |
| “Dec-22” | 1.1 |
| “Jan-23” | 1.7 |
| “Feb-23” | 1.5 |
| “Mar-23” | 0.8 |
| “Apr-23” | 0.5 |
| “May-23” | 0.3 |
| “Jun-23” | 1.6 |
| “Jul-23” | -0.5 |
| “Aug-23” | 0.5 |
| “Sep-23” | -0.4 |
| “Oct-23” | -0.9 |
| “Nov-23” | -0.2 |
| “Dec-23” | -0.1 |
Monthly food prices fell 0.1 percent in December 2023 compared with November 2023.
The biggest contributor to this fall was non-alcoholic beverages, driven by prices for fizzy drinks and energy drinks. Other items that have contributed to the monthly fall include tomatoes, nectarines, and lamb.
In December 2023, 45 percent of items fell in price, while in December 2022, 39 percent of items fell in price. We are continuing to see more food items fall in price than a year ago.
“In the last year, five months have shown a price fall,” Mitchell said.
“The changes we are seeing in food prices for the last few months are comparable to what we saw prior to 2020.”
Alcohol prices fall in December
Alcoholic beverage prices fell in December 2023 compared with November 2023 and increased annually to the year ended December 2023.
Stats NZ began publishing monthly price data for alcoholic beverages in November 2023, which feeds into the quarterly consumers price index (CPI).
“December usually shows a price fall for alcoholic beverages,” Mitchell said.
“All items in this category fell in price, which includes wine, beer, spirits, and liqueurs.”
