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New Zealand food prices were 12.1 percent higher in March 2023 than they were in March 2022, with fruit and vegetable prices increasing by 22 per cent, the national statistics department said on Monday.

Stats NZ said that grocery food was the largest contributor to this movement, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Increasing prices for barn or cage-raised eggs, potato chips, and 6-pack yoghurt were the largest drivers within grocery food," Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.

In March 2023, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories Stats NZ measures.

Compared with March 2022, grocery food prices increased by 14 per cent; fruit and vegetables prices increased by 22 per cent; and meat, poultry and fish prices increased by 7.8 per cent.

The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. The increase was driven by tomatoes, potatoes, and avocados.

Monthly food prices rose 0.8 per cent in March 2023 compared with February 2023, Stats NZ said.

New Zealand's Green Party called for reining in supermarket profiteering urgently as it is driving high food prices.

Supermarket profiteering is "making it harder and harder for people to aff ord to eat", said the Green Party's spokesperson for commerce and consumer affairs, Ricardo Menendez March.

"Lower-income families spend most of their income covering the essentials like food and are hit the hardest," March said, calling on the government to urgently step in and tax excess supermarket profit so as to use the money to help people.

The Grocery Industry Competition Bill should be passed immediately, he said, calling for forcing supermarkets to divest their subsidiary companies.