VEGETABLES, seafood and transport recorded notable increases in January, driving up the overall hike in inflation by 2.7% year-on-year.

According to the Statistics Department, the increase is due to higher prices in 10 main groups.

Transport recorded the biggest jump at 5.7%, followed by Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (3.8%), and Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (2.6%).

“Among the index of food items that recorded a notable increase in January (compared with last year) are spinach (36.2%), long beans (33.6%), choy sum (23.7%), cuttlefish (11.1%) and chicken eggs (6.5%),” said the department’s chief statistician, Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, in a release yesterday.

Other items that recorded increases were fish (4.4%), meat (4.2%) and ikan kembung, or Indian mackerel (2.8%).

Food Away From Home continued to rise in January at 4.9%, said the department.

Four states – Malacca (+3%), Johor (+2.9%), Selangor and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (+2.9%) and Negri Sembilan (+2.8%) – recorded figures higher than the national inflation rate of 2.7%.

The department said the increase in food prices was reflected in most states.

Five states – the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (+5.4%), Malacca (+4.2%), Selangor and Putrajaya (+4.2%), Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan (+4.2%) and Johor (+4%) – recorded increases in food prices above the national index level of 3.5%.

The department said it had updated Malaysia’s consumer price index’s basket of goods and services, based on the Household Expenditure Survey 2016.

“The new basket comprises 552 items. The updating of the basket of goods and services aims to ensure that the statistics reflect current patterns in consumer expenditure,” said Uzir. – March 1, 2018.