Planning Department: Inflation down 1.12 percent last month

The inflation rate in Malé has gone down 1.12 percent last month compared to March this year, the Department of National Planning has said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Department said that the major price reductions in Malé market had occurred in fish products, garments and shoes. According to their statistics, the inflation rate of fish products had gone down 19.17 percent in April. The statistics say that the price of skipjack tuna had gone down 36 percent in April compared to March, and that the price of other types of fresh fish had gone down 33 percent, while the price of reef fish was down 17 percent.

The Planning Department also said that the price of some food items such as chilies, carrots, cucumbers, and ginger had gone up during April, while the prices of tomatoes, cabbages, onions, potatoes, eggs, coconuts, lemons, dried chilies, basmati rice, and canned food products had gone down.

The price of fruits such as mangoes, bananas, oranges and apples had gone down last month, the statistics said. Although many food and beverage items had gone down in prices during April, it is worth noting that building rents had gone up by 1.28 percent.

The inflation rate in the education sector had risen by 26.30 percent, the Planning Department said, while tuition fees soared by 67 percent. The Department further said that the inflation rate in Malé was higher by 4.28 percent this year when compared to the same month last year.