Consumers in Cyprus felt the pinch in January as the prices of 26 staple products rose, with 11 categories rising by more than 3%, according to the latest Consumer Product Price Watch. The steepest price hikes were recorded for frozen fish (+16.3%), koulouria cookies (+11.2%), frozen mollusks (+8.2%) and flour (+8%).
At the same time, 18 product categories saw price drops, including sugar (-16.8%), fresh vegetables (-7.5%), fresh meat (-5.5%), and cheese (-3.4%). The fluctuations were recorded by the Consumer Protection Agency under the Department of Commerce, Energy and Industry, which tracks daily sales data from 400 retail outlets nationwide.
While overall inflation in January stood at 2.5% – similar to December’s 2.6% – food prices remained a significant driver of costs, rising by 4.8% year-over-year. Restaurants and hotel prices also increased by 4.1%, impacting household budgets further.
While frozen fish saw the highest monthly rise, prices were actually 0.3% lower than in January 2024. Similarly, koulouria and frozen shellfish were cheaper compared to last year, while the prices of baby food (+11.5%) and Cypriot coffee (+11.3%) soared.