WELLINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual food prices rose 4.6 percent in the 12 months to January 2026, following a 4 percent increase in the 12 months to December 2025, Stats NZ reported Tuesday.

Grocery food led the rise, up 4 percent, followed by meat, poultry, and fish prices, said the statistics department.

White bread recorded the sharpest increase, surging 57.9 percent annually. Beef porterhouse steak rose 22.9 percent, while takeaway coffee climbed 6.6 percent, it said.

"The price of a takeaway coffee is now 1.12 NZ dollars (about 0.68 U.S. dollars) higher than five years ago," said Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden.

On a monthly basis, food prices increased by 2.5 percent in January, the largest monthly rise in four years, which saw all food subgroups increasing, with grocery food up 2.3 percent and fruit and vegetables up 6.7 percent from December, statistics showed.

Meanwhile, monthly petrol and diesel prices fell 2.4 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, in January and were both nearly 5 percent lower than a year earlier, marking the first simultaneous monthly and annual fuel price drop since mid-2025, Growden said.