2017-11-15

New Zealanders are spending relatively more on restaurant meals and takeaways, and less on grocery items, Stats NZ said today. This shift in how we eat has been reflected in changes to New Zealand’s monthly food inflation measure, the food price index.

To imagine this, cut a good old-fashioned pie into pieces. More than a quarter (26 percent) of the food-spending pie is now spent in restaurants and on ready-to-eat meals, such as takeaway hot drinks and takeaway pizzas (compared with 23 percent in 2014). About one-third of the pie (34 percent) goes on grocery foods (compared with 37 percent in 2014).

“As a result, changing prices for restaurant, cafe, and takeaway foods will have an increasing influence on the overall basket of goods that make up the food price index,” prices senior manager Jason Attewell said.



Those living in the Wellington region spend the highest proportion of their food budget on restaurant and ready-to-eat food (29 percent), closely followed by people in the Auckland region (28 percent). Those living in the South Island excluding Canterbury, spend the least on restaurant and ready-to-eat food (22 percent). The average for the whole of New Zealand is 26 percent.

Kiwis spend slightly more proportionally than Aussies on ready-to-eat food, but we are still far behind our mates over the ditch when it comes to eating out. According to the most recent Australian data, we spend about half as much them, proportionally, on restaurant meals. We also spend proportionally about half as much as them on fruit, but about the same on vegetables.

See also:

Food price index review: 2017

Food Price Index: October 2017

Olives squeeze out luncheon sausage

Ends

For media enquiries contact: Matt Haigh 04 931 4862, or James Weir 021 285 9191; info@stats.govt.nz

Authorised by Liz MacPherson, Government Statistician, 20 November 2017

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