Malaysia’s inflation rises 2.0pc, food inflation up 4.0pc from March 2022

Malaysia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March 2022 rose by 2.2 per cent to 125.6 against 122.9 in March 2021, surpassing the average inflation for the January 2011-March 2022 period which stood at 1.9 per cent, said the Statistics Department today.

In a statement, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise in headline inflation was mainly driven by the 4.0 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages.

“Food inflation remained as a major contributor to inflation. The 4.0 per cent growth in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group was largely due to an increase in the food at home component which rose by 4.3 per cent compared to 4.1 per cent recorded in February 2022,” he added.

Mohd Uzir said the meat subgroup continued to be the main contributor to the food inflation, rising by 7.6 per cent in March 2022.

“Chicken, the biggest component in the meat subgroup, expanded 10.5 per cent, while beef rose by 4.3 per cent,” he added.