What the Price Observatory reports for July of the Consumer Protection Service
The price of 27 of the 45 products of the Consumer Protection Service's Consumer Product Price Watch for July recorded an increase in price, with the biggest increases being noted in the price of fish, fresh and frozen, and sugar. At the same time, the price of greens and vegetables saw a noticeable decrease.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Observatory said that the assessment made for the month of July shows that the upward trajectory of inflation from 2.4% in April, to 2.7% in May and 2.9% in June was reversed in July , so inflation was limited to 2.1%, with a moderate increase in the prices of individual products.
As he notes, the moderate increase is reflected in the prices of several categories of products recorded by the Observatory of the Service, mainly food, which recorded inflation of 2.2% in the period January – July 2024 compared to the corresponding period last year and compared to 2% in the first half of the year, which is mainly due to the increase registered by agricultural products by 4.5% in July compared to the previous month.
For the month of July, in a total of 45 categories of basic products, 27 categories registered an increase, of which 13 at a rate lower than 1%, 17 categories showed a decrease and one category (toilet paper) no change.
More significant increases compared to the previous month were registered by fresh fish/molluscs by 5.7%. Compared to July 2023, the price of fresh fish and molluscs increased by 4.3%. In addition, the price for frozen fish was up 5.2% in July compared to June, while compared to last July it was down 3.3%.
In July, a 5.2% increase was also recorded in the price of sugar, compared to the previous month. On the contrary, compared to July 2023 the price of sugar is reduced by 17.9%. An increase was also noted in the price of oil, which was more expensive by 3.3% compared to June, while compared to the same month last year, a large increase of 18.8% was recorded. Finally, an increase was also recorded in the price of eggs, by 2.7% compared to June and 2.1% compared to July 2023.
On the other hand, a decrease compared to the previous month was recorded by 17 charges in July. The biggest decrease was recorded in the price of vegetables and greens, which was down 14.3% compared to June and 14.6% compared to July 2023.
A decrease of 2.3% was recorded in the price of the LPG cylinder, which, however, compared to July 2023, has increased by 3.3%. A decrease was also recorded in the price of bread by 2.2% in July compared to June, as well as a decrease of 0.6% compared to July 2023. Finally, frozen molluscs/shellfish fell by 2.2%, however, remaining increased by 14.3% compared to July 2023.
In the announcement, the Consumer Protection Service notes that it continues to intensively monitor the implementation of the zero rate VAT measure, while also conducting sectoral investigations and audits, such as the recent investigation in the field of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Consumer Protection Service also clarifies that the Price Observatories are prepared solely for consumer information purposes and in no way constitute advice. Price Observatories are not intended and cannot replace 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 points of sale to choose or specific products, it states.
It is particularly noted that some of the products included in the Observatory have quality differences that cannot be determined. For this purpose, the Service urges consumers to carry out substantial market research before proceeding with purchases, taking into account the results of the specific Observatory.
