Costs for supermarkets in New Zealand from grocery suppliers increased 1.9% in July from a year earlier, Infometrics said in a Friday report.
"July's result was the slowest annual increase since February 2025, driven by a number of cost decreases as some fuel adjustment factors reversed out," according to Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen.
At the same time, "product cost increases haven't been as intense as first feared when conflict in the Middle East sent various input costs soaring," Olsen said.
"Although costs for some items have eased back slightly, increases continue across some household staples including meats, some produce, and recently some non-food grocery items," Olsen added.
Supplier costs rose across all departments in July compared with a year earlier, with butchery cost increases led by beef, lamb, and pork, while higher produce costs were led by onions, cucumbers, and certain fruits.
Month on month, just over 3,600 products increased in cost from June to July, which Infometrics said is "a more usual number of monthly cost increases after the surge in June."