INCREASES OF 13.3% IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND 6.2% IN FOOD - Filenews 3/4 by Theano Thiopoulou
Also, the route of a wide range of products from the field to the supermarket shelf needs oil for transportation and electricity for processing and cooling. Analysts warn that the disruption in energy flows of recent weeks has not yet been fully reflected in the global economy and that a successive supply shock is likely in April. Still, the crucial question of the end of the war with Iran remains unanswered, prolonging the turmoil in energy prices.
Data from the Statistical Service show that inflation of agricultural products will create pressure on household budgets. Livestock products, as well as products of primary treatment associated with them, are also affected. In addition, as time goes by, the effects of foot-and-mouth disease cases in Cyprus in mid-February and peaked in March will become more visible in prices.
For the rest of the categories, the food and non-alcoholic price index in March recorded an annual increase of 6.16%, while the price index for housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels decreased by 1.90%. The price index for electricity and water only had an annual decrease of 12.94% (due to the use of cheaper fuel that had been imported before the war), while the category of petroleum products recorded an increase of 2.26%.
The price index for restaurants and accommodation services recorded an annual increase of 3.28% in March, the category personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services had an increase of 1.18% year-on-year. The price index for educational services increased by 3.71%, that of recreation, sports and culture by 2.94%, while that of information and communication had a decrease of 1.83%. The price index for clothing and footwear fell by 5.78% in March and that of transport by 0.11%.
