Consumer Price Index reports biggest jump in the cost of oils, fats, meat and meat products in the past few months
As the cost of living – or inflation – continues to rise, the recently released Consumer Price Index reports that the prices of oils, fats, meat and meat products have seen the largest increase these past several months compared to previous years.
The Statistics Division, in its Year-on-Year Analysis, says the index for oils and fats rose 25.1% over the year while the index for meat and meat products increased by 19.4%.
The All Items Index increased 8.6% for the 12 months ending September 2022, a slightly larger increase than the 8.3% for the period ending in August.
The Food Index rose 14.6% over the last 12 months, the Division says, and all nine major supermarket food-group indexes increased over the same period.
“The remaining food groups posted increases ranging from 4.4% (for fruits) to 16.5% (for vegetables),” the Report says.
The index for vegetables accounted for 26.0% of the change, while meat and meat products contributed 23.8% and bread and cereals added 13.3%.
The remaining groups’ influences range from 2.1% (for fruit) to 10.0% (for fish and seafood).
According to the Division, the Index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 7.0% — which is an identical increase to August.
The index for restaurants and hotels rose 11.9% in September.
Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance rose 13.9%.
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.
