Some price reductions seen in September

Price reductions were observed in 26 out of 45 categories of consumer products monitored by the Consumer Protection Service for the month of September, it announced on Monday.

Despite inflation continuing its upward trend in the past months, reaching 4 per cent in September compared to 2.6 per cent in August and 1.5 per cent in July.

At the same time, food prices saw a rise of 9.13 per cent between January and September, compared to the corresponding period last year.

However price falls were seen in 26 out of the 45 monitored categories.

These included toilet paper, with a decrease of 18.3 per cent, children’s nappies, 3.8 per cent, fresh meat with a drop of 3.4 per cent, frozen pre-prepared fish by 3.4 per cent, Cypriot coffee by 3.1 per cent, tomato juices and pulp by 2.5 per cent, bulgur wheat by 2.7 per cent, eggs by 2.2 per cent, and sanitary pads by 2 per cent.

In contrast, other categories recorded notable increases, including vegetables by 17.5 per cent, frozen seafood by 14.3 per cent, fresh and frozen fish by 4.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively, gas cylinders by 3.1 per cent, biscuits by 2.4 per cent, frozen minced meat by 2.4 per cent, and other products at a lower percentage.

The announcement added that the Consumer Protection Service will continue its intensive checks related to the implementation of the zero VAT rate, monitoring prices in seven approved product categories and four new ones in nine different supermarkets at 58 points of sale across Cyprus.

Approximately 77 per cent of the products have maintained the price level as of May 5 when the zero/reduced VAT rate was implemented, the body said.