Source: Radio New Zealand
The average price of a kilogram of beef mince was now $4.60 more than the same time in 2025. RNZ / Vinay Ranchhod
Food prices were up 4.5 percent in the year to February, and mince has recorded the biggest annual increase since data began.
Meat, poultry and fish led the increases, up 7.5 percent annually.
Fruit and vegetables lifted by 9.4 percent.
Sirloin steak was up 21.5 percent annually and even beef mince was up 23.2 percent, to an average $24.46 a kilogram.
Chocolate was up 20.3 percent annually.
Stats NZ’s price and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said the average price of a kilogram of beef mince was now $4.60 more than the same time in 2025.
“This is the largest annual price increase in beef mince prices since the series began in June 2006.”
Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said export beef prices were up, which was being reflected in local prices.
Westpac is expecting beef prices to move higher still through this year, as global supply remains tight.
BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said international meat prices were at record levels. “Driven in particularly by a real tightening in the US market. US cattle numbers are at the lowest level since 1951, so they are short of beef and that is pushing the global price up. We’re now seeing that reflected more in the retail prices that we pay,”
He said it was hard on households who might have relied on mince to be a cheaper staple.
“If you look at the food price index, you’ve got much higher mince and meat prices, you’ve got bread, veggies all going up in some cases in double digits.
“And we’re starting down some big increase in petrol prices as well, so it is very much concentrated in some of those essential categories so it’s going to be particularly tough going for households that never got much relief from the cost of living. We’re going to have to have a pretty hard look at some of our forecasts for things like consumer spending over the rest of the year.”
Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said the increases were concentrated in red meat, rather than chicken or pork.
“The price at the sale yards for beef has gone up 71 percent since March 2024. Lamb is up 85 percent and that’s driven by strong demand out of China and the US. At the same time, global supply coming out of New Zealand and Australia is quite weak as well.”
Some things did get cheaper – olive oil was down 22.1 percent over a year and potato crisps down 3.2 percent.
Growden said chocolate biscuits also fell in price.
Food prices are expected to increase in the coming months as disruption in the Middle East pushes up oil prices.
Kiernan earlier told RNZ that sectors such as fishing were particularly exposed to increases in oil prices.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
