Fruit Commodity and Vegertable Prices High, Food Prices Rose in Mid 2011

Food prices rose in June in New Zealand, as higher fruit and vegetable prices offset lower meat prices, according to official data released on Wednesday.

The food price index rose 1.4 percent last month, to be 7.5 percent higher than a year ago, Statistics New Zealand said.

The annual increase also reflects a rise in the government sales tax last October, which has added 2.2 percentage points.

The food price index makes up 17.4 percent of the consumer price index.