Russia's inflation almost half of EU rate for March - Rosstat
MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) - the increase in prices for goods and services in Russia came to 0.6% for March 2011, which was almost half the rate for EU countries (1.1%) in the same period, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said in a statement.
Prices for goods and services increased by 3.8% in January-March while this rate for the EU came to 1.2% over the three months.
Main EU countries saw consumer prices increased substantially in March. The biggest increase in March was posted for Greece (up 3.2%), Spain (2.4%) and Italy (2.2%) and for the period since the start of the year - Belarus (6.1%), Kazakhstan (3.7%) and Ukraine (3.3%).
However, prices for food in Russia exceeded the European inflation rate by over 100%. Prices for food increased by 1% in comparison with February and 5.4% since the start of the year (in the EU - 0.4% and 1.6%, respectively).
` The EU countries posted the high rate of price growth for food in March 2011 were Hungary (2.7%), Poland (2.3%), Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania (1.2%-1.3%) and the period since the start of the year - Hungary and Cyprus (each 6.7%), Bulgaria (5.6%) and Poland (5%).
However, several EU economies (Britain, Belgium and Malta) posted slight price decreases for food (0.2%-1.5%).
Record price increases in Europe for March were posted for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, candy, butter, animal fats, fish, seafood and fruits.
Prices for sugar, jam, honey and candy increases most significantly in Hungary (14.2%0, Poland (11.9%), Bulgaria (7.5), oils and animal fats - Britain (4.7%), Germany (3.7%), Austria, Slovakia and Lithuania (2.6%-2.9%), fish and seafood - Luxembourg (5%), Cyprus (4.6%), Lithuania (3.2%), Finland (2.9%) and fruit - Austria (6.5%), France (6.1%), Cyprus (4.5%) and Greece (4.2%).
Posting the most significant price increases among foods in Russia in March were baked goods and cereals, as well as vegetables - 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively (up 0.3% and down 0.1% respectively in the EU).
Prices for fish and seafood in Russia increased by 1.3% (up 0.8% in the EU), dairy products, cheese and eggs - 1% (0.4%), fruit - 0.9% (0.7%), meat and meat producers, butter and animal fats - 0.7% (0.4% and 1.13%, respectively. Prices for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and candy creased by 0.1% (in the EU - up 1.5%).
