While food prices have risen 9.9% this year, the weekend’s weather proved that summer is definitely on its way – and so are fresh summer food prices.

Statistics New Zealand said yesterday that average food prices actually fell (albeit by a mere 0.3%) in October. The decrease is mainly due to the fruit and vege prices, particularly lettuce (down 50.7%) and tomatoes (down 24.9%).

Conversely, potatoes and bread were big pullers in the other direction, both with increased prices in the last month (potatoes 20.6% and bread 3.2%). Is this the economy’s way of getting Kiwis ready for beach weather by cutting carbs in favour of salads?

The price of cheese isn’t the popular news headliner that it was earlier in the year, but the report also noted that while a block of cheddar has risen by 39.2% this year, the October month saw it drop by 4%.

Image from Flickr.