NZ food price index for April 2012

From Statistics New Zealand;

In April 2012 compared with March 2012:

• Food prices fell 0.1 percent.
• Non-alcoholic beverage prices fell 2.6 percent.
• Grocery food prices fell 0.7 percent.
• Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices fell 0.1 percent.
• Meat, poultry, and fish prices rose 0.7 percent.
• Fruit and vegetable prices rose 2.8 percent. 

Grocery food prices fell 0.7 percent in April 2012. Cheaper prices were recorded for potato crisps (down 4.8 percent), crackers (down 6.0 percent), yoghurt (down 4.8 percent), sweets (down 5.8 percent), and soup (down 9.4 percent). These price falls were influenced by more discounting in April than in March. Soup prices usually fall in March and April with more discounting in autumn.
Annually, overall grocery food prices were unchanged in the year to April 2012. Higher prices were recorded for ice cream and edible ices (up 6.1 percent), breakfast cereals (up 9.3 percent), and nuts (up 13 percent). These were partly offset by lower prices for cheddar cheese (down 13 percent), butter (down 13 percent), bread (down 2.3 percent), and fresh milk (down 1.5 percent). Butter prices were 17 percent lower than their June 2011 peak. Fresh milk prices reached their lowest levels since September 2010 and were 1.9 percent lower than their February 2011 peak.