Food prices in New Zealand were steady on month on an unadjusted basis in May, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.
Seasonally adjusted, food prices were down 0.1 percent.
Individually, fruit and vegetable prices fell 2.0 percent (down 1.9 percent after seasonal adjustment), while meat, poultry, and fish prices rose 0.8 percent and grocery food prices fell 0.3 percent (with no movement after seasonal adjustment).
Non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 1.1 percent, while restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 0.3 percent.
On a yearly basis, food prices also were down 0.1 percent, influenced by lower fruit and vegetable prices (down 10 percent).
Prices fell for lettuce (down 52 percent), tomatoes (down 24 percent), and broccoli (down 43 percent). These falls follow large price increases in 2017, as New Zealand growers lost crops due to poor weather.
Despite the overall price fall, there were increases in restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices (up 2.9 percent), and non-alcoholic beverage prices (up 4.6 percent).
The minimum wage increase of 75 cents to NZ$16.50 an hour on 1 April 2018 may be a partial factor for these price increases.
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