Consumer prices in Uzbekistan showed a slight decrease of 0.1% in July. This minor deflation was mainly due to the seasonal drop in the prices of fruits and vegetables, although there was an increase in fuel prices and several other services.
According to the National Statistical Committee, annual inflation reached 6.4% in July. This figure was 2.5 percentage points lower than in the previous year, when it stood at 8.9%.
Food Prices Dynamics
The most significant price decrease was recorded in the food segment, where the average cost dropped by 0.91%. The substantial price reduction was seen in seasonal vegetables and fruits: eggplants became 42.8% cheaper, bell peppers decreased by 39.4%, tomatoes became 24% cheaper, watermelons lost 20.3% of their price, potatoes by 18%, and melons by 14.5%.
Additionally, prices for peaches and cucumbers decreased (by 10.6%), garlic (by 10%), pears (by 7.1%), as well as grapes and apples (by 6.6%), bananas (by 6.6%), and eggs (by 5%).
Changes in Meat and Non-food Goods Prices
At the same time, meat products showed a trend of increasing prices. The cost of boneless beef increased by 0.6%, lamb rose by 0.4%, and poultry meat grew by approximately 0.3–0.4%. However, year-on-year growth in meat prices remains high: beef has risen by 18.8%, and lamb by 20.9%.
Non-food goods increased in price by 0.3% during the reporting month. The most noticeable increase was in gasoline prices: AI-98 and AI-100 increased by 10%, AI-95 by 8.5%, and AI-92 by 3.9%.
Increase in Service Costs
The average cost of paid services increased by 0.5%. Reasons for this increase include rising tariffs for household waste removal, mobile communication, and city bus travel. An increase in prices in the catering sector was also noted: cafe and restaurant services rose by approximately 0.6%.
To determine the consumer price index, specialists used data collected from over 10 thousand trade and service points. Monitoring is conducted monthly for over 2 million prices across 419 different types of goods and 98 types of services. It should be noted that in June, inflation was accelerated by the increase in energy tariff rates, despite the seasonal decline in food prices.
