Party foods cheaper than healthy foods

Party foods such as these fell in price last month, while healthy foods such as vegetables became more expensive. File photo.

Common party foods fell in price over April, while prices for vegetables rose, Statistics New Zealand reports.

Overall, food prices fell 0.8 percent last month.

Statistics New Zealand consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh says the cost of throwing a party fell, with lower prices for groceries such as potato chips, chocolate biscuits, and crackers.

'Other party favourites, such as soft drinks, grapes, and carrots also fell in price.”

Conversely, fruit and vegetable prices rose 4.2 percent, with vegetable prices up 10 per cent (up 9.1 per cent after seasonal adjustment) but with fruit prices down three per cent.

In the year April 2017, restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices rose 1.9 per cent, while vegetable prices increased 8.1 per cent over the year, influenced by higher prices for lettuce, broccoli, and kumara.

In the last month alone, the average price per kilogram for broccoli has gone from $4.93 to $9.41 across the country.

Meat, poultry, and fish decreased 1.5 per cent, mainly due to lower prices for pork and chicken. Chicken prices decreased 4.2 per cent for the year, and have been falling annually since June 2015.

Much of the recent price increases for vegetables can be attributed to the destructive effect of the recent storms that battered the country last month, ruining crops and causing supply to fall.

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7 comments

My god !

Posted on 14-05-2017 11:40 | By Papamoaner

Do people actually eat that rubbish? I wouldn't feed it to my dogs. That said, I must admit to the odd potato chip over a beer or two.


So what?

Posted on 14-05-2017 13:39 | By GreertonBoy

In general people don't sit down to a hot meal off M&M's and pretzels for breakfast, lunch and dinner.... party foods are treats, well, they were in my day. I can imagine a kids party these days, bowls of cut up carrots and celery... bottles of water a plenty. Nothing 'terrible' available at school shops any more... water, fruit.... Kids are still getting fat, all of this nonsense only makes kids binge when they ever get the chance. How about making healthy food a choice, not trying to make out that 'party foods' are poison. They aren't.... I doubt many people try to live on peanuts and corn chips, some might, but you cant fix stupid... so what do you propose? a 'fun food tax'? Why not subsidise fruit and veg? Papamoaner, I wouldn't waste that on my dogs.. looks too yummy... made me want some pretzels :)


By and large;-

Posted on 14-05-2017 14:17 | By Papamoaner

Kids will follow their parents habits, be it food or living. Much of what you say has merit, but when we look around us and observe what people go for as first choice, young and old, the mind boggles.Not just some nights, but EVERY night there is a long queue of flash cars with an evidently affluent family aboard, lined up at "You know which" fast food outlets. Then you see them down at the supermarket later waddling along bent forward pushing the trollies with their elbows, track pants bulging. Sadly for some, todays party snacks are tomorrows dinners.


No excuse

Posted on 14-05-2017 15:41 | By simple.really

for obesity! Get out and walk or swim, grow your own veges, and be responsible for your own health. I have 3 slim daughters that all run and swim with us, we eat healthy quite cheaply and enjoy life as productive citizens. People always want someone or something to blame....look in the mirror.


cake

Posted on 15-05-2017 09:17 | By maybelle

As some have said, party food is, or should be treats, something you don't have every day and for a special occasion (or it was in my day). What has shocked me is the price of butter...$5.00 for a pound!. We live in a country where we make tons of the stuff...shame....


@Maybelle

Posted on 16-05-2017 10:33 | By Papamoaner

Yes, also cheese and milk. I think our prices are set by the daft system we have where local prices are set by export prices. The politician who invents a mechanism to change that, will be a hero.


Party treats

Posted on 17-05-2017 21:04 | By Papamoaner

Unfortunately, we seem to just follow America these days, where even something as simple as party treats is near enough to 100% mass processed crap. Try attending a party in say the Philippines - YUM ! Shellfish tidbits on rice crackers, exotic fruits skillfully mixed with spit roasted pork crackling and nuts - crispy with a difference! washed down with shots of Tuba which is a beautiful locally made coconut husk red wine. Bah humbug to the crap in that photo! How did we become so unsophisticated? Is it the fault of TV?


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