Thursday, 11 October 2018 14:15

Vegetable prices fall

Written by 
Vegetable prices fell 8.7% in September, whilst meat and poultry prices rose 2%. Vegetable prices fell 8.7% in September, whilst meat and poultry prices rose 2%.

Vegetable prices fell 8.7% in September, with lettuce prices falling 45%.

Lettuces is now priced an average of $1.81 a head, says Statistics New Zealand. They were down 30% for the year.

“Prices reached an all-time high of $5.42 for a 500g head of lettuce in July 2018 due to poor weather. But since then we’ve had two major price falls, which meant lettuce prices reached an unseasonably low level this September,” consumer prices manager Geraldine Duoba said.

While lettuce averaged $1.81 a head in September 2018, at the same time last year the price was about 80 cents a head higher, at $2.59.

Vegetable prices fell 8.7% in September, influenced by lower prices for lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. However, meat and poultry prices rose 2%, influenced by higher prices for beef and chicken.

Overall, food prices were almost unchanged in September 2018 (down 0.1%), but showed a slight rise after seasonal adjustment (up 0.3%).

In the year ended September 2018, food prices were also relatively unchanged (up 0.1%). This was driven by higher prices for ready-to-eat food (up 3.5%), and milk, cheese and eggs (up 2.2%). Prices decreased for vegetables (down 8.9%) and fruit (down 3.6%), which helped keep overall food inflation low for the year.

“After the poor weather and a reduced harvest in 2017, vegetable prices have returned to more typical levels for this time of year,” Du

More like this

Horticulture exports hit $8.4B, surge toward $10B by 2029

A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter