It's official – chooks are cheap.

Chicken prices have dropped to their lowest level in almost a decade.

Chicken breasts fell to $13.52 per kilo this September, after peaking at $16.60/kg in late 2014.

Statistics New Zealand says last month's fall in chicken prices meant they had dropped for each of the last 16 months, and were now at their lowest level since October, 2007.

A kilogram of chicken is cheaper than the same amount of beef mince, and only more expensive than sausages and lamb chops.

Poultry Industry Association executive director Michael Brooks says the general drop in chicken prices was the result of expansion in the local industry, as the chicken you buy in New Zealand was locally produced.

"With supply decisions being made one to two years ahead, temporary periods of under- or over-supply can occur and affect prices accordingly," says Michael.

The fall in chicken prices was part of a picture of declining food prices overall during September, when fruit and vegetable prices also fell by more than 5 per cent.

August's spike in banana prices caused by a broken down shipment from Ecuador had also peeled back, says Statistics New Zealand.

Banana prices hit $3.51 a kilogram, their highest price in nearly 70 years, but in September fell back to $3.05.

- Stuff