The Consumer Protection Service announces the Consumer Price Monitor for the month of September 2024. The Monitor presents the weighted average price for 250 basic consumer products (food and other products) based on the quantities and prices per day, at which these products were sold in 400 retail stores all over Cyprus throughout the month.
The purpose of the Observatory is to provide the consumer with an objective comparative view of purchase prices from all retail stores, supermarkets, bakeries, bakeries, kiosks, etc.
In conclusion, the assessment made for the month of September shows that the containment of the increase in the inflation rate recorded in August by 1,5%, against 2,1% in July and 2,7% in June, continues, with the inflation rate to be limited in September to a rate of 0,7%. The containment of growth is mainly due to the large decrease in petroleum products by -4,78% compared to the previous month and -11,40% compared to September 2023, in contrast to food inflation, which reached 2,55% in the January-September period compared to the corresponding period last year.
The moderate increase in inflation in September is also reflected in the prices of most product categories recorded by the Service's observatory, except for agricultural products, which recorded a total increase of 3,10% compared to the previous month and 8% compared to the previous year .
As shown in detail in the Service's Table with the price indices for the month of September, in a total of 45 categories of basic products, 23 categories recorded an increase, of which nine at a rate of more than 2,0%, 21 categories showed a decrease and one category, the gas cylinder, no change. Significant increases compared to the previous month were recorded by:
– vegetables and greens by 9,7% (+6,7% compared to September 2023)
– frozen molluscs/shellfish by 9,3% (+16,7% compared to September 2023)
– fabric softeners by 5,1% (+14,1% compared to September 2023)
– infant milk by 3,8% (+0,2% compared to September 2023)
– oil by 3,6% (+16,2% compared to September 2023)
– broths by 2,7% (+3,8% compared to September 2023)
– frozen fish by 2,4% (-0,3% compared to September 2023)
– baby foods by 2,3% (+8,5% compared to September 2023)
– laundry detergents by 2,3% (-1,8% compared to September 2023)
– cookies by 1,9% (+3,2% compared to September 2023)
A decrease compared to the previous month was recorded in 25 categories with the most important:
– fresh meat by -3,9% (+2,0% compared to September 2023)
– baby diapers by -2,9% (+5,7% compared to September 2023)
– breakfast cereals by -2,6% (+3,5% compared to September 2023)
– sugar by -2,1% (-19,6% compared to September 2023)
– frozen breaded & precooked fish by -1,7% (-10,9% compared to September 2023)
– frozen pasta by -1,6% (-8,0% compared to September 2023)
– flour by -1,7% (-3,0% compared to September 2023)
Additionally, given the decision to reinstate the measure of the zero VAT rate, the Consumer Protection Service continues intensive market checks throughout October, in order to record prices and any increases before the measure is re-applied in specific products namely baby diapers, adult diapers, baby milk, feminine hygiene products and fruits and vegetables. Specifically, the Service records the prices of 56 products from all categories in eleven different supermarkets across Cyprus.
The Consumer Protection Service clarifies that Price Observatories are prepared solely for consumer information purposes and in no way constitute advice. Price Watchers are not intended and cannot substitute for the market research that each consumer should do based on their own preferences, data and needs, nor are they intended to indicate to consumers which outlets to choose or specific products.
It is particularly noted that some of the products included in the Observatory have quality differences that cannot be determined. For this purpose, the Service urges consumers to do substantial market research before proceeding with purchases, taking into account the results of the particular Observatory.
The Observatory's detailed information is provided on the website of the Consumer Protection Service.