Food prices jump in December as inflation continues to squeeze pockets

If you felt that the price of daily needs shot up in December you were right and this is now confirmed by official figures.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) for December published by the National Statistics Office today shows how food prices increased by 5.24% when compared to a year earlier. Restaurant food prices and take-aways also increased by 4.14% last month.

Food and restaurant prices contributed the largest upward impact on annual inflation in December, the NSO said. The food category represents 21.5% of the basket of goods that make up the index.

The overall annual rate of inflation last December as measured by the RPI stood at 2.59% when compared to a year earlier, up from 2.38% in November.

Other sharp increases were registered among veterinary services, including pet food (9.18%), sports related equipment (6.82%), carpets and household textiles (6.79%) and house maintenance services (5.45%).

But Malta’s saving grace remains the energy sector, where stable prices meant there was no inflation. Water and electricity bills, and the prices for gas and fuels remained unchanged throughout the year, the NSO figures show.

This appears to have had a positive impact on the transport sector, since inflation here registered a modest increase of 2.58%.

In the communication sector the annual rate of inflation decreased by 2.75%.

Inflation has been on the increase as a result of higher demand that is not being met because of supply chain disruptions caused by global COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

For this year, government has allocated almost €200 million to cushion the expected increase in fuel prices but higher food prices are squeezing pockets and remain a recurring problem.