Essential goods see 28 price increases in June

In June, 28 out of 45 basic product categories saw price increases, with 24 of these categories rising by less than 3 per cent from the previous month. This information comes from the Consumer Product Price Watch, released by the Consumer Protection Service. Additionally, 16 categories experienced price drops, and one category remained unchanged.

According to the consumer protection service, rising fuel prices in May and June, along with higher food inflation, have pushed overall inflation up from 2.4 per cent in April to 2.7 per cent in May, and 2.9 per cent in June. Prices are expected to keep climbing in July.

The rise in inflation is most noticeable in food prices, which went up by 2.0 per cent from January to June 2024 compared to the same period last year. This increase is mainly due to a 4.9 per cent rise in agricultural products, a 9.5 per cent jump in electricity costs, and an 8.6 per cent increase in petroleum products.

Some of the biggest monthly price hikes were in vegetables and greens, up by 23.0 per cent (25.0 per cent compared to June 2023), vegetable cooking fat, up by 13.7 per cent, and frozen molluscs/shellfish, up by 10.4 per cent (30.6 per cent compared to June 2023).

Other increases included flour (3.7 per cent), baby diapers (2.6 per cent), oil (2.4 per cent, 13.0 per cent compared to June 2023), baby food (1.8 per cent, 7.6 per cent compared to June 2023), water (1.9 per cent), and juices (1.1 per cent, 8.5 per cent compared to June 2023).

On the flip side, 16 categories saw price drops compared to the previous month. Notable decreases were in sugar, down by 7.7 per cent (-19.7 per cent compared to June 2023), pasta, down by 2.6 per cent (-2.2 per cent compared to June 2023), and frozen fish, down by 3.2 per cent (-5.1 per cent compared to June 2023).

Other declines included breaded/cooked frozen fish (down by 2.4 per cent, -4.0 per cent compared to June 2023), frozen burgers (down by 2.4 per cent, -3.1 per cent compared to June 2023), fresh meat (down by 1.8 per cent, +5.8 per cent compared to June 2023), and fresh fish/molluscs (down by 1.5 per cent, -16.6 per cent compared to June 2023).

The service also compared supermarket prices in Larnaca on July 16, checking 48 essential household products across three supermarkets. The most expensive basket cost €209.07, while the cheapest was €194.69, with the middle basket priced at €204.99. The zero VAT rate on 11 products saves consumers between €6.80 and €7.08 on an €88 total purchase, depending on the supermarket.

In addition, the service reports it is continuing rigorous checks on the implementation of the zero VAT rate measure. They are monitoring prices of 88 products from all approved categories across nine different hypermarkets at 58 points of sale nationwide.

“The current assessment from the implementation of the measure, based on the results of the audits, is that this has a positive effect on prices and, by extension, on inflation, since prices are being held down,” the service said.

It notes that for about 65 per cent of products, prices have remained at the levels seen on May 5, when the measure was implemented, with an additional percentage seeing slight decreases.

Citing the results of the latest audit, the service said that “compliance is universal, with adherence rates for milk, eggs, sugar, coffee, baby diapers, and vegetables in the 70-100 per cent range, and slightly lower rates for other products.”