Countdown’s food prices decrease

Countdown WaihekeCountdown’s food prices have shown a 1.9 per cent decrease in July 2016 compared to the previous corresponding period, and three per cent lower than the same period two years ago.

Chris Fisher, Countdown’s general manager of merchandise, said multiple factors drove Countdown’s lower prices in July, including a 9.2 per cent drop in health and beauty items, a 4.6 per cent drop in deli products and a 4.2 per cent drop across other food and beverage items.

“Countdown’s price lockdown programme contributed significantly to a price decrease in the July figures,” Fisher said. “Products in the programme are 4.6 per cent cheaper versus this time last year and 11.4 per cent cheaper than two years ago”.

“Price lockdown continues to offer Kiwi shoppers lower prices every day. In July household staples like bread, shaved ham, spreads and crackers were considerably cheaper than two years ago.”

Fisher said while overall basket prices are down, produce prices increased by 13.5 per cent compared to July last year due to weather and currency fluctuations.

Cucumbers were more expensive in July, as a particularly long spell of dark winter days caused some crop failure. The price is expected to drop in August/September as new crops flourish. The high US dollar is also affecting the price of green grapes.

“There will always be external factors out of our control that affect prices, which is why we work hard to offer low every day prices in other areas,” said Fisher.

Countdown tracks the prices of a basket of 100 of the most commonly purchased items in its supermarkets.

According to data from Statistics New Zealand’s July Food Price Index, after seasonal adjustment, there was a 1.3 per cent decrease in food prices nationwide compared to July last year.

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