A spike in the cost of tomatoes and broccoli helped bump up the Food Price Index by 2% during July, Statistics New Zealand said.
Tomatoes averaged $13.25 per kg in July, up 34% on the previous month, while the cost of green vegetables rose 14.2%, and accounted for more than half of the rise in food prices during the month.
Fruit and vegetables account for $14 out of every $100 households spend on grocery food.
Statistics NZ's prices manager Chris Pike said the high cost of tomatoes reflected a supply shortage.
Meanwhile broccoli soared 66% during the month.
Lettuce was up 20.7%, yoghurt up 14.7%, capsicums up 28.6%, and fresh chicken climbed 8.6%.
Lamb prices rose 7.7% and are now at their highest recorded level.
In the year to July food prices rose 7.9%.
Meanwhile a Statistics New Zealand review has revealed about $38 of every $100 households spend on food is spent on grocery food.
About $21 was spent on eating out or takeaways, and about $16 was spent on meat, poultry, and fish.
Fruit and vegetables accounted for $14. The remaining $11 was spent on non-alcoholic beverages, such as packaged coffee, soft drinks, and juices.
