Higher prices in March for avocado, tomato, bacon, eggs, and bread are putting the heat on the price of making brunch at home, says Stats NZ.

Avocado prices more than doubled in March compared with February 2019.

'Avocado prices usually rise early in the year, and reach their highest levels around June,” says consumer prices manager Gael Price.

'This March's increase was much bigger than usual. Avocado prices were $4.29 per 200g, up from $3.12 per 200g in March 2018.

Tomatoes cost an average of $5.20 a kilo in March 2019, 44 per cent higher than February 2019 and 12 per cent higher than March 2018.

Bacon prices were 2.7 per cent higher in March 2019. The average price for a 700g middle rasher from the supermarket was $11.01 in March compared with $10.71 in February.

Bread prices rose 1.1 per cent in March. Egg prices also rose 0.4 per cent in March 2019, 9.0 per cent higher than March 2018.

On the other hand, butter prices fell for the second successive month. A 500g block of block of butter cost an average of $5.11 in March 2019, down from a series-high $5.79 in January 2019.

The average price of a 250g chocolate block from the supermarket was $4.12 in March, down from $4.30 in February 2019.

'We saw some chocolate makers cut down the size of their blocks this month. However, many of these products were on special, which resulted in an overall price fall,” says Gael.

Fruit prices overall rose 5.5 per cent in March 2019, an increase of 2.7 percent in the year to March 2019.

Overall, food prices rose 0.5 per cent in March.