FOOD PRICES

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26529, 18 September 1951, Page 6

FOOD PRICES

Increases In Recent Years

WAGE RATES ALSO HIGHER

Although in the last 20 years grocery prices, and the cost of goods used in the household, have taken a spectacular rise, wages in that period have increased almost 150 per cent., and the increase in the cost of the main food lines, partly through the effect of subsidies, has not been nearly as great. Compared with 1932, the price of bread has increased less than 20 per cent., flour has increased less than 50 per cent., bacon about 120 per cent.. and butter about 70 per cent. The greatest increases in the main lines are in tea. Which now costs about three times and a half as much as it did in 1932, sugar which costs three times as much, cheese, the cost of which has risen 150 per cent., and ham, which costs nearly four times its 1932 price.

The wage movements of adult male workers in all industries offer a comparison with the increased cost of living. The base of the compilation is the annual average wage-rate lor all industrial groups combined over the years 1126-1930. This base represents 1000. and the index numbers for the years under review are as follows:—l932, 864: 1939. 1100; 1947, 14891951 (to June 30). 2021. • s .9 me the . greatest price increases in the tables given below are In tinned foods, and leading grocers interviewed yesterday said that it was in imported goods that the greatest increase in prices had occurred. They agreed that in most lines there had been a substantial increase, which was accentuated by the reversion a few years ago to the system by which grocers were entitled to a percentage profit, in place of the unit mark-up given about the time the war ended. The increase in the price of imported goods, they said, had been about three times as much as that for goods produced in New Zealand.

. In , „ tbe following tables the figures for 1932 and 1939 are annual averages for Christchurch. The 1947 figures are averages for the four main centres, and the 1951 figures are taken from the Canterbury Master Grocers’ Association price list. Unless otherwise stated quantities are one pound. The prices of the main lines are:—

There have been some rapid increases in the consumer price of meat, and from figures supplied yesterday it appeared that tripe was the only line which had not gone up in price by at least 100 per cent, in the years since 1932. Butchers’ prices, it was stated, fluctuated frequently, and the 1951 prices listed below are those prevailing in a leading Christchurch butchery yesterday. The prices are:—

There have been steady increases in the cost of dried fruits and tinned fruit and tinned fish. Raisins, for instance, now cost about 250 per cent, more than they did ih 1932 and 150 per cent, more than they dia just before the war. A standard size tin of apricots now costs about 25 per cent, more than it did three years ago. The prices of dried fruits and tinned goods are as follows:

Of the fruit and vegetable prices covered by the Government statistics department for 1932 and 1939, the greatest increase is in the cost of cabbages and cauliflowers. Cabbages are now 250 per cent, dearer than in 1932, and cauliflowers 200 per cent, dearer. Vegetables and fruit are listed below:

Rice, which was almost unprocurable for some time, now costs more than three times as much as it did in 1932, and other cereals have shown big increases in price, as indicated in the following table:—

Commodities used in the washhouse have shown a remarkable increase in price since the depression years, a bar of household soap which cost an average of 81d in 1932 is now priced at 2s 5d and pegs, obtained in 1932 at 2d a dozen, now cost nearly Is. although the post-war product is stated to be of a much higher quality than the one first quoted. Prices for these commodities are given below: —

The most spectacular rise of all is ; in the cost of pepper, which has in-1 creased by more than 3000 per cent.! since 1939. The rise In the price of; pepper has taken place since Indonesia ■ proclaimed her independence and took control of her industries. Other imported commodities, such at groundi ginger, have risen sharply in price for the same reason. A list of the cost of articles used ,in the kitchen follows:

A list of the prices of miscellaneous articles follows.! In nearly every case the high percentage of increase apparent in the other tables obtains, but at least one section of the community may have cause to rejoice at the increased costs. Schoolchildren)

would probably welcome a further increase in the cost of castor oil. The list is as follows:

1932 1939 1947 1951 Sept. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Bread (21b) Flour 0 5J« 0 6* 0 511 0 6it (251b) 4 U 4 31 4 4 6 0 Tea 1 9J 2 71 5 3 6 3 Sugar .. 0 21 0 4 0 41 0 7i Milk <qt.) 0 41 0 6 0 61 0 8 Butter .. 0 iu 1 6 1 6 1 8 Cheese (N.Z.) 0 8 0 11 1 0j 1 8 Eggs (doz.)t 1 31 1 10} 2 «1 3 4 Bacon (shoulder 10 1 2 1 51 2 0 Ham .. 1 11 — 3 2 4 2 •Delivered. tOve counter.

1932 1939 1947 1951 Beef— s d. 3. d. S. d. s. d. Sirloin 0 7} 0 9J 0 11 1 4 Top side Stewing 0 7 0 91 0 10 1 4 steak 0 51 0 8 0 8} 1 3 Corned round 0 71 0 91 0 11 1 4 Sausages— Beef 0 ♦1 0 51 0 8 1 0 Pork Mutton— 0 81 0 8} 0 10} 1 4 Leg 0 61 0 8} 0 11} 1 4 Shoulder 0 41 0 71 0 8 1 2 Chops .. Pork0 51 0 8 0 111 1 4} Leg 0 91 0 11 1 1 2 0 Chops .. 0 10} 0 12J 1 3 2 3 Tripe 0 7 0 61 0 6} 0 9

1932 1 s. 939 d. 1947 1951 s. d. s. d. s. d. Raisins 0 61 0 8 1 0} 1 10} Currants .. 0 61 0 6J 0 9 0 11} Sultanas .. 0 u 0 91 0 11} Dried dates 1 0 1 5} Dried prunes 1 3 1 10 Tinned Goods— Apricots (30oz) 1 2 1 31 2 6 3 2 Pineapple (small) 0 5} 0 61 1 2 1 10 Salmon 1 11 2 31 3 6 — Herrings 0 9 1 H 2 U 2 1

1932 1939 s. cl. 1947 s. d. 1951 s. d. s. d. Potatoes (141b) 1 2 2 0 2 51 2 11 Onions 0 21 0 31 0 3} 0 7 Eating apples 0 41 0 51 0 9 Cooking apples 0 31 0 4} —— 0 6 Cabbage (211b) 0 6 0 51 1 9 Cauliflowers (211b) 0 8 0 8 — 2 0

1932 1039 1947 1951 s. d. S. d. s. d. s. d. Rolled oats (41b) 1 41 1 51 1 91 2 51 Barley 0 21 0 31 0 51 0 7} Cornflour .. 0 31 0 7} 1 21 1 0} Rice 0 21 0 3 —- 0 8 Sago 0 21 0 3 —- 0 7 Tapioca 0 21 0 3 — 0 8 Macaroni .. 0 61 — 1 3} 0 11J

1932 1939 1947 1951 s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Starch 0 81 0 84 1 2 1 U Bar soap 0 81 1 04 1 91 2 5 Pegs (doz.) 0 2 0 7J 0 iu Sandsoap 0 31 — 0 5 0 5

1932 1939 1947 1951 s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Baking powder (14oz) 1 3 1 4 2 6 2 4 Cream of tartar 1 41 1 71 3 8 Carb, soda 0 21 0 3 0 7} 0 5 Ground ginger Peel 1 31 0 111 0 11J 2 2 10 3 0 6 Custard powder 0 6 — 0 91 0 71 Essences (loz) 0 9 — 0 11 0 10 Jellies (1st) .. 0 8 — 0 71 0 91 Citric acid (oz) .. 0 3 0 4 0 7} Salt (common) 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 21 Pepper (lib) 0 51 0 11 « Mustard (lib) 0 101 1 1 2 41 2 3

1932 1939 1947 1951 s. d. s. d. ’S. d. s. d. Cond. milk (N.Z.) 0 91 0 9 0 11* 1 2* Coffee 1 103 2 0 3 6 7 84 Cocoa .. 0 81 0 81 0 91 0 94 Honey . 1 31 0 103 1 2 1 71 G. svrup (21b) 0 61 0 63 0 10 1 1 Treacle 0 53 0 61 0 9} 1 04 Tom. sauce (N.Z.) (pint) 0 9 — 1 11 1 8 Wor. sauce 0 73 •— 1 44 1 5 Cigs. (10) 0 71 0 61 0 91 0 11 Bor. acid 0 8 —— 1 6 1 2 Boot pol. (small) 0 4 —• 0 84 0 10 Metal pol. (small) 0 10 — 1 2 1 2 Candles 0 9 — — 1 11 Corks (doz.) 0 2 — 0 6 0 6 Flvpapers 0 10 — 1 9 1 9 Ink (small) 0 2 —— 0 34 0 3J t, Inseed 0 3 — 0 8 0 8 Castor oil 0 11 — 1 'll 1 5 Water bis. 0 9 1 0 1 2 1 9 *14oz.