Food prices fell 1.3% in February from the previous month, following a 2.1% rise in January, Statistics New Zealand said when it released the data today.

Four of five subgroups made downward contributions to the February decrease: fruit and vegetables (down 3.5%), meat, poultry, and fish (down 2.4%), grocery food (down 0.8%), and non-alcoholic beverages (down 1.9%).

The most significant decrease came from fruit and vegetables, which was largely driven by lower prices for apples (down 27%) and potatoes (down 11%). Apple prices typically fall by at least a fifth in February as the new season's crop becomes more widely available.

This was the six consecutive month where prices for fruit and vegetables declined on a year-on-year basis.

For the year to February 2010, food prices were largely unchanged, rising only 0.7%. Three subgroups recorded increases: restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food were up 2.2%, non-alcoholic beverages were up 2.5% and grocery food was up 0.6%. The prices of meat, poultry, fish, and fruit and vegetables fell in the year to February 2010.

"Although food prices are now 0.7 percent higher than a year ago, they are 9.6 percent higher than two years ago," prices manager Chris Pike said.