Cheddar cheese, yoghurt, potato chips lead cost-of-living ‘squeeze’

A 1.1 per cent rise in grocery prices was led by price increases of yoghurt, potato chips, and cheddar cheese, Stats NZ released today. Photo / Supplied

Classic Kiwi staples like cheese, milk and potato chips have led the big food price squeeze in the past year.

A 1.1 per cent rise in grocery prices was led by price increases of yoghurt,
potato chips, and cheddar cheese, Stats NZ released today as food prices were up 10.7 per cent this year compared to last year.

Prices for cheddar cheese, yoghurt, and standard two-litre milk drove the highest increases in food in the last year, while the second-largest contributor was fruit and vegetables which were up 20 per cent since November 2021.

It isn’t all bad news in the pre-Christmas front, as prices for strawberries fell 35 per cent, while tomatoes and broccoli dropped 42 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices were up 8 per cent, while meat, poultry, and fish prices increased 12 per cent.

Westpac Senior Economist Satish Ranchhod said this year has seen strong increases in the prices of a range of household necessities including food, fuel, and housing.

Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac Bank. Photo / NZME

He said rising food costs are one of several fronts where Kiwi households will face a “squeeze”.

“You’ve got high inflation. You’ve also got mortgage rates that are pushing higher at a really rapid pace, and you’ve also got house prices that have continued to fall rapidly and for many households.”

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Consumer NZ’s Gemma Rasmussen said, “For some households, putting food on the table over the Christmas and new year period is a concern, and this is understandable off the back of food price increases over the last year.”

Rasmussen said pressure on food supply stems from a range of factors, “from food shortages due to erratic weather, to increases in production cost due to surging fertilizer…

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