Consumers face fresh price rises in basic goods

Prices for several basic consumer goods continued to rise in May, according to the consumer protection service, as inflationary pressures remained visible across household staples ranging from cold cuts and baby food to coffee, eggs and detergents. The service’s price observatory, which tracks the weighted average price of 250 basic consumer products across 400 retail stores nationwide, showed the sharpest monthly increase in cold cuts, which rose by 6.4 per cent compared with April and by 9.2 per cent compared with May 2025. Frozen breaded and pre-cooked fish also rose by 6.3 per cent on a monthly basis, although prices remained 15.3 per cent lower than a year earlier. Frozen molluscs and shellfish increased by 6.1 per cent compared with the previous month, while still recording an annual drop of 10.9 per cent. Oil prices rose by 5.8 per cent month-on-month, although they were marginally lower, by 0.2 per cent, compared with May 2025. Canned meat also became more expensive, rising by 5.4 per cent from April and by 7.3 per cent year-on-year. The increases, however, were not limited to a few categories. Cypriot coffee rose by 5.1 per cent on a monthly basis and by 5.8 per cent compared with last year, while baby food increased by 5.1 per cent month-on-month and by 10.9 per cent annually. Eggs were also up by 5 per cent compared with April and 7.9 per cent compared with May 2025, while flour increased by 4.9 per cent month-on-month and 3.5 per cent year-on-year. At the same time, laundry detergents rose by 4.4 per cent from April and by 10.8 per cent compared with last year, while frozen pasta increased by 4.1 per cent month-on-month and 5 per cent annually. Soft drinks were up by 3.8 per cent compared with the previous month and by 6.2 per cent year-on-year, while toilet paper rose by 3.6 per cent and yoghurt by 3.4 per cent. Nevertheless, some categories recorded notable monthly decreases. Fresh vegetables and greens fell by 24.3 per cent compared with April, although they remained 24.9 per cent more expensive than in May 2025. Fresh fish and molluscs dropped by 6.8 per cent month-on-month, but were still 6.9 per cent higher than a year earlier. Fresh meat fell by 1.6 per cent compared with April and by 7.6 per cent compared with May 2025, while frozen fish declined by 1.3 per cent on a monthly basis but remained 7.1 per cent higher year-on-year. Sugar also recorded a small monthly decrease of 1.1 per cent, while remaining almost unchanged compared with last year, up by 0.2 per cent. Meanwhile, data from the government’s digital price comparison platform e-kalathi showed that the price gap between the most expensive and cheapest supermarket narrowed slightly in June, although it remained substantial. According to the service, the number of absolutely common products available for comparison across seven large supermarkets has gradually increased from 228 products on October 15, 2025, to 253 products on June 15, 2026. On that date, the value of the basket of 253 absolutely common products stood at €1,080.72 at Philippos, the most expensive supermarket in the comparison, and €972.10 at Sklavenitis, the cheapest. This created a difference of €108.62, or 11.2 per cent, between the two supermarkets. The previous month, the gap had stood at €119.70, or 12 per cent, for a basket of 257 common products. The service said the ranking of the seven supermarkets had changed compared with the previous month, while urging consumers to use the e-kalathi platform and mobile application to compare prices and make more informed purchases. It also stressed that the observatories are prepared solely for consumer information purposes and do not constitute advice. The service added that the data cannot replace consumers’ own market research, particularly as some products included in the observatory may have qualitative differences which are not reflected in price comparisons. Consumers were therefore encouraged to carry out their own checks before making purchases, taking into account their personal needs, preferences and budgets.