KUALA LUMPUR – The food inflation in April was higher at 4.1% with 89.1% of food items in Food & Beverages group recorded increases, resulting it to become the main contributor of inflation.
According to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DOSM), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) April 2022 increased 2.3% to 125.9 against 123.1 in the same month of the preceding year (2011). The increase has surpassed the average inflation in Malaysia for the period January 2011 to April 2022 (1.9%).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, the food inflation was followed by Restaurants & Hotels (3.2%); Transport (3.0%); Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (2.7%); Miscellaneous Goods & Services (1.8%) and Recreation Services & Culture (1.3%).
Education registered an increase of 1.0% and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels increase 0.8%. Meanwhile, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Health increased marginally by 0.5% and 0.2% respectively. Communication remained unchanged, while Clothing & Footwear declined 0.2% as compared to the same month of the preceding year.
Commenting on the report, Mohd Uzir said that the increase in food inflation, which contributed the highest to the overall weight of CPI remained to be a major contributor to inflation.
“Inflation for this group increased 4.1% in April 2022 as compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages group was largely due to an increase in the component for Food away from home which inclined 4.4% as compared to 4.0% as recorded in March 2022.
For instance, both Satay and Rice with side dishes recorded higher increase of 7.1% (March 2022: 6.6%). Cooked vegetables and Cooked beef increased 6.9% (March 2022: 5.7%) and 5.7% (March 2022: 5.2%) respectively. Meanwhile, Food at home which refers to raw materials for cooking preparation at home increased 4.1% as compared to a year ago.
Furthermore, all subgroups in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages recorded increases. The subgroup of Milk, cheese & eggs showed a higher increase of 7.2% (7% in March 2022). This was followed by the increase in Meat (6.2%), Vegetables (4.5%) and Fish & seafood (3.8%).
The increase in vegetable prices was due to weather uncertainties that this has affected the maturity of vegetables and caused a decline in supply in the market. In addition, the incline in the price was attributed to the increase of fertiliser prices, logistics costs and labour shortage at agricultural sites.
According to the DOSM in a statement today, the government has implemented the Maximum Price Scheme for the 2022 Hari Raya Puasa Celebration Season (SHMMP) from 26 April until 10 May 2022 as an initiative to stabilise the price of goods and to ensure the availability of supply in the market prior to up to after the celebration. The implementation of SHMMP is expected to ease the inflation in May 2022 especially for the Food group. -MalaysiaGazette
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