The price of basic food goods is rising at more than double the overall rate of inflation, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate.
The agency’s latest flash estimate of the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) for Ireland showed prices across the economy have risen by 2.6 per cent over the past year despite falling by 1 per cent since December.
The annualised rate compares with 2.7 per cent last month – at a time when the rate across the euro zone was 1.9 per cent – and a cycle high of 3.1 per cent in November. This time last year, the annualised rate in Ireland stood at 1.7 per cent.
At 3.9 per cent excluding alcohol and tobacco, food was the standout inflationary component of the index, up 0.2 per cent month-on-month and by 3.9 per cent over the past 12 months.
Within that, unprocessed foods – a category that includes meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and cereals – saw an annualised increase of 5.8 per cent, more than twice the overall rate of inflation.
The figure for processed food was in line with the overall harmonised rate at 2.6 per cent.
Th overall rate was helped lower by energy prices which CSO statistician, Anthony Dawson noted, had dropped by 0.8 per cent in the month. They are now just 0.3 per cent higher than in January 2025.
Industrial goods, not including energy, also acted to moderate the overall level of inflation, down 1.9 per cent on December and only 1 per cent up year-on-year. Among other components, Mr Dawson noted that services were costing 3.3 per cent more than in January last year.
The harmonised measure of inflation is standardised across all euro zone states. The main differences between it and the CSO’s consumer price index (CPI), the official measure of inflation in the Republic, is that it does not take account of housing or motoring costs.
Data on an EU-wide basis will be published next week.