Year-on-year, food prices rose 16.4 percent in December, following a 12.5 percent increase in the previous month. Sugar recorded the highest increase (40 percent), followed by fruit and vegetables (22 percent) and meat and poultry (20.1 percent).
Additional upward pressures came from recreation and culture (17.2 percent) alcoholic beverages and tobacco (15.7 percent), health (10.9 percent), housing, water, electricity and gas (8.7 percent), and transport (7.8 percent).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 2.6 percent, due to a 3.3 percent increase in food prices and a 2.3 percent rise in non-food cost.