(AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported on Monday that inflation rates surged in January to 12.2% compared to the same period last year.
The report added that monthly inflation rates also jumped to 1.6% between December 2013 and January 2014.
CAPMAS’s report indicated that the general prices of foods and beverages ascended by 3.6%, compared to the preceding month. Meanwhile, the same prices accelerated by 19.1% compared to the same period last year.
The jump in inflation rates continued as urban inflation also increased to 1.7% month on month and 13.2% year on year.
“In Egypt, inflation rates have been higher than the global average,” said Angus Blair, the CEO of Signet Institute. Such significant rises, Blair said, stemmed from “significant structural problems in Egypt such as the wastage of food.”
Blair explained that in Egypt, food is wasted before the point of purchase, whereas internationally, food waste is primarily after purchase.
Structural trade problems also result in higher priced imported goods, Blair added.
In December, inflation rates saw a minor decline after their 1.3% decrease from November’s statistics. It was the second monthly decline in inflation rates during 2013, the first being in May, when rates slowed by 0.2% month on month.
