Butter prices push up food bills as cost of block goes up 120% in a decade
Sorin Gheorghita for Unsplash
The price of a block of butter is now 120 percent higher than it was 10 years ago, and increases in dairy prices in general helped pull up food prices in June, Stats NZ says.
It said food prices lifted 4.6 percent in the 12 months to June 2025.
Stats NZ spokesperson Nicola Growden said
dairy prices
were a continued driver of the increase.
Milk was up 14.3 percent for the year, to $4.57 for two litres, butter was up 46.5 percent to $8.60 for a 500g block, and cheese was up 30 percent to $13.04 for a 1kg block.
"Butter prices are nearly five dollars more expensive than 10 years ago, an increase of over 120 percent," Growden said.
There were also significant increases in the price of meat, poultry and fish.
"The average cost for 1kg of beef mince was $21.73 in June 2025, up from $18.80 a year ago," Growden said.
Food prices rose 1.2 percent in the month.
More expensive tomatoes, capsicum, and broccoli drove the increase for fruit and vegetables, while higher prices for boxed chocolates and eggs drove the increase for grocery foods.
More to come....
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