THE RESULTS of a recent study on the changes in price of 430 everyday goods and services revealed that prices in general have gone up by 1.62 per cent from January to October of this year, with the biggest increase shown in tuition fees and the greatest drop in the cost of telecommunications.
The Cyprus Consumers Association using RAI Consultants monitored the changes in prices of 430 goods and services for the period January- October 2004, recording prices before and after EU accession on May 1 2004. The results were as follows:
Food and beverage (non-alcoholic), accounting for 23 per cent of products monitored, showed an average increase in price of 0.61 per cent from the beginning of the year until October. Prices dropped almost two per cent between March and April, slowly rising by 3.4 per cent during the summer months and dropping again by October to the 0.61 per cent mark, mainly due to a considerable fall in the price of fruits.
Alcohol and tobacco, accounting for four per cent of all products monitored, saw an average drop from January to October of 1.09 per cent, mainly due to the reduction in the price of imported alcohol after EU accession.
Clothing and footwear, accounting for seven per cent of total products, saw a rise in average prices by 2.14 per cent by October. However, this category jumped in price by almost 20 per cent in the May-June period, only to drop during the summer sales by 18.65 per cent. Clothes and footwear saw a huge leap in prices after the sales of over 25 per cent. But calculating price rises from the beginning of the year, the average fluctuation until last month was recorded at 2.14 per cent.
Housing, water, electricity and fuel, (five per cent of all products), showed an average decrease in price up to 9.83 per cent, with the biggest reduction coming straight after May.
The average cost of Furniture, household appliances and maintenance (eight per cent of all products monitored) gradually rose from January to October by 6.89 per cent, mainly as a result of price rises in furniture and decoration.
Goods and services under Health (six per cent) saw a minimal rise in average prices of 0.52 per cent.
Transport (accounting for 24 per cent of all products monitored) saw an increase of 2.51 per cent by October. This category was subdivided into the price of Vehicles, (which dropped by over six per cent); Fuel, lubricants and maintenance, (increase of almost 10 per cent);
Insurance and taxes (rise of over six per cent), and Transport services (3.5 per cent rise).
The cost of Recreation and culture (accounting for five per cent) rose by under two per cent, mainly due to the increase in prices of newspapers.
Tuition saw the highest price rise with a 12.37 per cent increase since January, recorded mainly between August and September with the start of the new school term.
Hotels, coffee shops and restaurants (accounting for six per cent) recorded price rises of three per cent by October, with up to seven per cent hikes during the tourist summer months, which dropped a little by September.
Personal care goods and services (accounting for five per cent) saw a rise of 1.66 per cent.
Communications was responsible for the greatest drop after May, seeing an almost nine per cent drop in prices, reaching 10.57 per cent decreases by October. The biggest factor in the drop came under the mobile phone category.
