The consumer price index (CPI) in Taiwan was up in March by nearly 1.61% over the same month last year. That’s the word from the government’s statistics office on Monday. It was the largest year-on-year increase following last March.
The statistics office said that in March, the CPI rose by 0.19% over February to 103.05.
Official figures show that the largest increases were in food prices. The most affected items included fruits which saw a rise of 17.32% and vegetables, which were up14.43% since last March. Meat prices, in particular pork and chicken, also saw double-digit rises in price over last March.
The statistics office says that rising prices were partially offset by post-Chinese New Year decreases in taxi fares, tour group prices, and by end-of-winter clothing sales.