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Here's Why The Produce On Sale Might Not Be What You Expect
Susan Edmunds, Money Correspondent
The new year has started with some good news for supermarket shoppers.
Warm weather has provided favourable growing conditions for many parts of the country, and suppliers and shops say that means extra fruit and veg available on supermarket shelves.
A spokesperson for Woolworths said the seasons were running "a couple of weeks earlier than normal".
"This is excellent news for our customers as we'll have plenty of summer fruit and vegetables available for the next couple of months.
"Stone fruit - nectarines, peaches, apricots and plums - is in full swing and eating really well. Watermelon is also building in supply and will be plentiful and good value for the next month.
"Gisborne sweetcorn has been in great supply since Christmas and is really good value and delicious."
Grower Leaderbrand said record sunshine hours in Gisborne meant watermelons were on shop shelves earlier than "ever before".
The first watermelon patches were planted in early August, the company said.
Several varieties were ready to be picked two weeks early, just after new year, which it said was a first.
"We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather in the early stages of our summer crops this year. Record temperatures, with long, dry, hot days are ideal for producing large, great quality watermelons," Gordon McPhail general manager of farming said.
At Foodstuffs, a spokesperson said the watermelon season had started mid-December, rather than the end of the year - or later.
"The main sweetcorn season started about 10 days earlier than expected. Peaches and nectarines were also 10 days earlier than previous years. In 2023, the season began mid-December, whereas this season, they started at the beginning of December."
Compared to last year, a number of different types of fruit and vegetables appear cheaper.
Woolworths was selling oranges for $5.50 a kilogram this week, compared to an average $6.80 last year across all outlets, according to Stats NZ.
Tomatoes were $3.69 compared to $5.26 last January. Mushrooms were about $3 a kilogram cheaper this year, and avocados $2. Capsicum were available for $8.65 a kilogram, compared to just under $12 last year.
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