WELLINGTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's food prices rose 3.7 percent in the year to April 2025, driven by dairy and coffee costs, the statistics department Stats NZ reported on Thursday.

The 3.7-percent growth was slightly above the 3.5 percent annual increase to March, Stats NZ said, adding the grocery food and non-alcoholic beverage groups were the main contributors, up 5.2 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

Dairy products led the surge, with butter prices soaring 65.3 percent, cheese up 24 percent, and milk rising 15.1 percent, it said.

"The average price for 500 grams of butter was 7.42 NZ dollars in April 2025. That's nearly 3 NZ dollars more expensive than this time last year," said Nicola Growden, Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson.

Instant coffee also saw a sharp rise, climbing 21.3 percent over the year to an average of 8.21 NZ dollars per 100 g, Growden said.

All five food subgroups recorded price increases. Fruit and vegetable prices edged up 0.2 percent, marking their first annual increase since January 2024, she said.

Meanwhile, Stats NZ has begun including electricity and gas in its monthly selected price indexes, which now cover 46.5 percent of the consumer price index basket. Electricity prices rose 2.3 percent in April compared to March, while gas prices increased 1.1 percent, statistics show.

Airfares of international flights increased 24.7 percent, with domestic fares rising 3.8 percent in April, reflecting higher demand during school holidays and back-to-back long weekends, Growden said, noting that flights to the Pacific Islands, Australia, and Asia saw the sharpest increases. (1 NZ dollar equals 0.59 U.S. dollar) ■