Statistics Division’s latest Consumer Index Report confirms that food prices continue rising, with fruit leading the increase
With the high cost of living expected to increase even further, given the hike in fuel prices, the Statistics Division’s most recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report is revealing that the Food Index continues to rise.
The Division says the Index for January (2022) rose 6.4 percent, following an increase of 5.4% in December.
In its year-on-year analysis, the Division points out that the All Items index also rose 2.9 % for the 12 months ending January 2022.
All of the nine major supermarket indexes increased over the period, with the largest rise continuing to be fruits, which rose 18.9% over the year.
“The Index for sugars, jams, honey, chocolate and confectionery increased 1.4%, the smallest 12 months’ increase among the groups,” according to the Division.
The Index for oils and fats increased 17.0% while the index for meat and meat products rose 12.1%.
While the Index for Miscellaneous Goods and Services, communication and housing, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance all saw an increase of over 7 percent, only transport declined 11.2%.
The Energy Index remained unchanged over the past 12 months for all major components: gasoline at the pump, LPG cooking gas, and fuel variation rate (Electricity).
The Division says that the Monthly Consumer Price Index decreased by 1.6% for the month ending January 2022, with a decline in the Food Index of 0.1 percent in January.
The index for Vegetables fell 2.7% and the Meats and Meat Products declined 0.3%. The index for Bread and Cereals, and Milk, Cheese, and Egg both increased by 0.4%. The index for Fruits increased 0.5% while the index for Fish and Seafood rose 0.6%.
The All Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the main measure of what is commonly called inflation, or headline inflation. It measures the change in prices, on average, from month-to-month, and from year- to-year of the goods and services bought by most households.
Prices are collected monthly and quarterly from supermarkets and other suppliers of goods and services.
