Brad Olsen: Infometrics chief executive on food prices going up again thanks to eggs and dairy

Prices are soaring for food staples, with prices up 4.7 percent on a year ago.

Stats NZ data for October shows cheese, instant coffee, eggs and milk had some of the largest surges. 

Gas rose 14.4 percent and electricity almost 12 percent

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says fruit and vegetables are cheaper - but not meat.

"A couple of months ago, right, we were talking a lot about butter. Mince is now the new butter in a sense, given that that's increased, I think, $23 a kilo."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fray and bread.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Food price is up four point seven percent in the
year of October. Melkup thirteen and a half percent, four
hundred four dollars seventy eight a liter, Cheese up thirty percent,
eggs up eighteen and a half percent, almost ten bucks
a dozen. Now instant coffee was up twenty five percent.
But that's discussing anyways. So who cares Brad Olsen infa
Metric's principal economist, isn't they? Hey, Brad, good afternoon. So
surprice is still going up.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yeah, life is still pretty expensive. That The good news
is as we head into summer, you're seeing some areas
of relief, the likes of fruit and vegetables becoming a
bit cheaper as we get into that better growing season.
But look, as you're thinking of, you know, Christmas sort
of lunch or dinner, I don't think you're going to
be wanting to put the likes of mince paddies or
steak on the barbie or ething, given that those have increased.

(00:42):
In fact, a couple of months ago, right, we were
talking a lot about butter. Mince now the new butter
in a sense, given that though that's increased I think
it's now twenty three bucks of kilo for that, So
your staples are still really expensive. They continue to go up,
so still pretty challenging for a lot of household.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
How are you saying go vegan?

Speaker 1 (00:59):
No, I'm saying maybe shop around, because while the likes
of beef and lamb and even fish has increased, the
likes of pork and chicken hasn't shifted all that much,
so that there's a little bit of option on the table.
The one that worries me though, that we don't talk
about a lot, is the fact that electricity price inflation
is currently running it as fastest since nineteen eighty nine.
Like that stuff's really starting to hit households and you

(01:21):
can't avoid that.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Cost, right, So what does this do to the overall
inflation number? Before the end of the year, we were
going to hit three percent over three percent.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Well we're there at the moment. We expect things to
come down, but that's more because yes, you've got the
likes of your food price inflation that's still running hot.
Electricity and similar as well. The challenge that I think
I'm finding when you look at the headline numbers, the
price of like a couch or your you know, fridge,
or a phone or similar are coming down. That's good,
but how many of those are we buying each week?
It's the really essential stuff that you're paying very very frequently.

(01:52):
You're electricity, your food and similar that's continuing to hit.
So although headline inflation might be in a better place
going forward, the cost of living challenge for house holds
doing it day by day is still going to be tough. Brad.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Thank you, Brad Lson and for Metrics. For more from
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