FPI: Monthly prices on the rise again

14th February 2024 By Paul Yandall | paul@foodticker.co.nz | @foodtickernz

A four-month run of falling food prices has stalled with prices going up in January 2024, while annual food price inflation also rose but was at its lowest level since November 2021.

Monthly food prices increased 0.9% in January 2024 compared with December 2023, according to the latest monthly price indices data from Stats NZ.

Prices were up across the board, but the biggest contributor to this rise was grocery food, driven by prices for boxed chocolates, two-litre milk cartons, and fresh eggs, excluding free-range eggs.

Stats NZ said other items that contributed to the monthly rise included apples and legs of lamb.

The close to 1% increase in January followed a slim contraction of 0.1% in December, a 0.2% decrease recorded in November, after bigger monthly price drops of 0.9% in October and 0.4% in September last year.

“Food prices increased 4% in the year ended January 2024, however, the annual change was the lowest reported since November 2021,” said Stats NZ’s consumer prices manager, James Mitchell.

Stats NZ reported price increases in four of the five food groups it analysed, with fruit and vegetables the only category to show an annual drop in price, down 1.2%.

Elsewhere, the biggest jump was seen in restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food, which was up 6.7% in January, following a 7.1% increase for the preceding December.

Rising prices in supermarkets also showed no signs of abating, with grocery food up 5.2% on a year ago, followed by non-alcoholic beverages up 4.4%. Alcoholic drinks were up 4.8%.