Wellington, Nov 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Food prices in New Zealand rose 4.7 per cent in the year to October 2025, up from 4.1 per cent in the year to September 2025, local media reported on Monday.
The grocery food group led the increase, up 4.9 per cent, while meat, poultry, and fish prices jumped 7.6 per cent annually, according to a statement of the statistics department.
Notable price hikes included milk up 13.5 per cent, instant coffee up 25.5 per cent, cheese up 30.1 per cent, and fresh eggs up 18.5 per cent, it said, reports Xinhua News Agency, quoting Stats NZ.
"Those who enjoy eggs and coffee in the morning may have noticed them becoming more expensive," said Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden.
Despite the annual rise, food prices fell 0.3 per cent in October compared to September, driven by a 10.7 per cent drop in vegetable prices, the largest monthly decline since November 2021, Growden said.
Electricity and gas prices also continued to climb, up 11.8 per cent and 14.4 per cent in the 12 months to October 2025, with monthly increases of 0.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent in October, which marked the 11th consecutive month of price increases for both utilities, Stats NZ said.
Earlier in October, Stats NZ reported that the cost of living for the average New Zealand household increased 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter, Stats NZ reported.
The 2.4 per cent increase, measured by the household living-costs price indexes (HLPIs), follows a 2.6 per cent increase in the 12 months to the June 2025 quarter, according to a statement of the statistics department.
The most recent high was 8.2 per cent recorded in the 12 months to the December 2022 quarter, Stats NZ said.
The 2.4 per cent rise is slightly lower than the three per cent inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period, it said, adding the difference is largely due to a 15.4 per cent drop in mortgage interest payments, which are included in the HLPIs but not the CPI.
The HLPIs measure how inflation affects 13 different household groups, while the CPI measures how inflation affects New Zealand as a whole, serving as the primary gauge for monetary policy decisions, the statement said.
Mortgage interest payments decreased significantly, benefiting the highest-spending households that recorded the lowest annual inflation of 0.8 per cent. By contrast, superannuitants experienced a higher inflation rate of 3.9 per cent, as most own their homes outright and have little mortgage impact, Stats NZ said.
Electricity costs surged 11.3 per cent in the 12 months to September 2025, affecting the lowest-spending households the most, contributing 19 per cent to their four per cent inflation, it said.
Rent increased 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to September 2025, having more impact on beneficiaries, since rent represents nearly 30 per cent of their household expenditure, compared with 13.1 per cent for the average household, and 5.1 per cent for the highest-spending households, it added.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz