Record lamb chop prices as BBQ season nears

The price of lamb chops reached a record high in October, Stats NZ said today.

Lamb chop prices were up 7.7 percent from September, reaching $17.12 a kilogram, while the cost of sausages was also up, by 4.9 percent to $10.30 a kilo.

“With summer approaching, these price rises will make meat for the barbecue more expensive,” consumer prices manager Geraldine Duoba said.

However, the price of sirloin and porterhouse steak was down slightly from its recent high in September 2018, to $30.72 per kilogram.

The price increases in meat follow falls in the New Zealand dollar and strong demand for exports of New Zealand meat, especially lamb.

These increases contributed to a 2.5 percent rise in the price of meat and poultry in October. This is the biggest monthly increase since January 2016.

However, there is good news if you like a salad with your barbecue meat. Vegetable prices fell 8.7 percent in October, after an 8.7 percent fall in September.

“Tomatoes, courgettes and lettuces all had seasonal price falls this month,” Ms Duoba said. “These prices usually keep falling as we head towards summer.”

Tomato prices fell 22 percent to $6.90 a kg, while lettuce dropped 30 percent to $1.28 per 500g head.

The fall in courgette prices follows a large increase in September, when supplies were limited. This was when imports of courgettes, and some other fruit and vegetables, were temporarily suspended for biosecurity reasons. New-season supplies of local courgettes came on to the market in October, bringing the price down again. However, courgette prices were still 15 percent higher than they were in October 2017.

Overall, food prices fell 0.6 percent in October, but rose 0.3 percent after seasonal adjustments. Annually, food prices increased 0.6 percent.

Video

See Food price index: October 2018 video.

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