New Zealand food inflation rose by its highest rate since 1989 in March, fuelled by prices across categories.
Data from Stats NZ, New Zealand’s official data agency, said food prices increased 12.1% year on year in March, the biggest annual jump since 1989.
The rise followed a 12% year-on-year increase in February.
Stats NZ cited “grocery food” as the main contributor to March’s inflation rate. Prices in the area were up 14%, the organisation said.
“Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and six-pack yogurt were the largest drivers within grocery food,” Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.
Battery cages for hens were banned from the end of December, which caused egg shortages and a subsequent jump in prices.
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