New Zealand Food Price Index as per May 2010

Food prices fell 0.7 percent in May 2010 and by 0.5 percent for the year to May, Statistics New Zealand said. This is the first annual fall in food prices since the year to July 2004, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Statistics New Zealand.

For the year to May 2010, lower prices were recorded for meat, poultry, and fish (down 4.5 percent).

Fish, meat, and poultry prices have now returned to levels last seen in September 2008 and are 7.1 percent lower than their peak in 2009.

The 0.7 percent fall in food prices in the May 2010 month followed a 0.5 percent fall in April and a 0.2 percent rise in March. "Food prices are back down to levels last seen in 2008 and are now 3.8 percent below their peak in July last year," Statistics New Zealand's prices manager Chris Pike said.

In May 2010, the fish subgroup, meat and poultry decreased 2.4 percent.