Food Price Index: August 2004

13 September 2004 Food Price Index Unchanged

Food prices recorded no overall change in August 2004, according to latest figures from Statistics New Zealand. Higher prices for grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery; and restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food were offset by lower prices for meat, fish and poultry; and fruit and vegetables. Grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery prices increased by 0.3 percent in August.

Significant upward contributions came from higher prices for chocolates (up 11.6 percent) and coffee (up 6.2 percent). Significant downward contributions came from lower prices for energy drinks (down 5.7 percent) and chocolate biscuits (down 4.9 percent).

Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 0.1 percent in August. Ready-to-eat food prices increased by 0.2 percent. Prices for restaurant meals decreased by 0.1 percent. Meat, fish and poultry prices decreased by 0.5 percent in August.

The most significant downward contributions came from lower prices for poultry (down 2.3 percent) and beef (down 1.3 percent). The most significant upward contribution came from higher prices for bacon (up 2.2 percent). Prices for fruit and vegetables were down 0.7 percent in August. Significant downward contributions came from lower prices for broccoli (down 19.1 percent) and tomatoes (down 10.6 percent). The most significant upward contribution came from higher prices for bananas (up 21.7 percent). ƒnƒn

Food prices increased by 0.4 percent from August 2003 to August 2004. Upward contributions came from restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 2.7 percent); and grocery food, soft drinks and confectionery (up 0.1 percent). Partly offsetting these increases were lower prices for fruit and vegetables (down 2.6 percent); and meat, fish and poultry (down 0.3 percent).

Brian Pink Government Statistician

ENDS

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