Food prices fall 1.5% in October as fruit and veg prices picked away in spring (Update 1)

Food prices fell 1.5% in October from September as fruit and vegetable prices saw their usual spring fall, figures released by Statistics New Zealand show. This was the largest monthly fall in overall prices in three and a half years and followed falls of 0.7% in September and 0.9% in August, Stats NZ said. (Update 1 includes chart.) Food prices in October were up 2% from a year ago, which is the smallest annual increase since a rise of 1.8% in the year to May 2006, Stats NZ said. However, prices were still up 12.1% from two years ago, it said. Here are Stats NZ's comments on the figures:

Food prices decreased 1.5 percent in the October 2009 month, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the largest fall in three-and-a-half years. The food price index also fell in September and August, by 0.7 and 0.9 percent, respectively. All five subgroups recorded price falls in October 2009, with the largest contribution coming from the fruit and vegetables subgroup (down 4.6 percent). It is common for fruit and vegetable prices to decrease during spring, and prices are now 15.5 percent lower than the winter peak of July 2009. Vegetable prices fell 5.0 percent and fruit prices fell 3.9 percent in October 2009. Meat, poultry, and fish (down 3.2 percent) also made a significant downward contribution in October 2009, driven by lower prices for fresh chicken (down 8.7 percent) and lamb (down 11.8 percent). For the year to October 2009, food prices rose 2.0 percent, which is the smallest annual increase since a rise of 1.8 percent in the year to May 2006. In the year to October 2009, four subgroups recorded increases: grocery food (up 2.7 percent), non-alcoholic beverages (up 9.8 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 3.0 percent), and meat, poultry, and fish (up 1.2 percent). The fruit and vegetables subgroup fell 6.0 percent. Although food prices are now 2.0 percent higher than a year ago, they are 12.1 percent higher than two years ago.