Frozen fish, flour and frozen meats saw hikes of up to 30 per cent in January, but the price of cold meats, cheese, bottled water, fresh fish and cereals fell up to 3 per cent, the consumer protection service announced on Wednesday.

The January report surveyed the weighted average price for 250 consumer staples available in 400 retail stores all over Cyprus throughout the month.

From the results, 16 items recorded decreases of up to 3 per cent. These include cold meats, cheeses, sugar, bottled water, fresh meats and fresh fish, cereals, bagels and biscuits.

Marginal increases were seen in 22 staples of between 1 per cent and 3 per cent but seven items showed big hikes. Frozen fish was up 30 per cent, flour 6.4 per cent, breaded fish 5 per cent and frozen meat 4.2 per cent.

The consumer protection service clarified that the monthly 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 added.

It also noted that some of the products included have quality differences that cannot be determined.

More information: http://www.consumer.gov.cy/meci/cyco/cyconsumer.nsf/All/35D51CD0FF633A10C22589570037BEEB?OpenDocument