The cost of living continues to rise and even though the Irfaan Ali government budgeted $5 billion to cushion the steep hikes, food and other commodity prices are continuing to climb.
The Bureau of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food rose some 13.8% with an overall hike in the cost of living by 7.5% over the last year. The Bureau’s latest CPI for the month of April 2022 revealed a 1.9% hike in food prices.
The Bureau says that the Consumer Price Indices (CPI) are measured on the basis of changes in the monthly cost of a fixed basket of goods and services and prices are recorded at the retail level. This approach, it notes, is in conformity with recommended international standards used by agencies such as the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Eurostat and International Labour Organisation (ILO).
