THE cost of the weekly visit to the supermarket in the Isle of Man is increasing quickly and fuelling inflation, according to government statistics.
Items such as cereals and vegetables are rising quickly but the biggest increase has been seen in potatoes (21.1%), cheese (15%) and, more than any other, meats such as sausages which have shot up over the last 12 months by a massive 52.5%.
The overall increase in food in the year-to-year figures is up by 8.2% but it’s oil prices which have produced the biggest increases with the cost of fuel and light up by 11.1% and motoring costs up by 12.9%. Clothing and footwear (8.6%), tobacco (7.5%) and catering (6.7%) have also risen quite sharply.
However, some foods now cost a fair amount less than they did a year ago. Pork has gone down by 10% in 12 months and fish is down by 4.9%.
The single biggest increase in one individual item is the cost of of potatoes - up by 21.1%, with petrol and oil not far behind on 20.9%.
The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) increased from 5.0% in April to 5.6% in May.
The April annual rate of inflation excluding housing costs shown by the RPI also increased, from 5.9% in April to 6.4% in May.
The annual rate of inflation shown by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was 4.6% in May, up from 4.0% in April.
