Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In April 2019, consumer prices for goods and services in Uzbekistan increased by an average of 0.9%. This was reported by the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan.

In general, in January-April 2019, goods and services in the consumer market became more expensive by 5.3%.

For comparison, in April 2018, the average price level in the republic’s consumer sector increased by 13.7%.

Products in April 2019 for the month went up by 1.0%, including food - by 1.0%, non-food - by 1.1%. Services have become more expensive by 0.6%.

In April 2018, food products on average per month added 0.3% to the price, non-food products - 0.4% and services -2.7%.

In general, in January-April 2019, foodstuffs went up by 7.4%, non-food products - by 3.9% and services - by 3.1%.

In annual terms (April 2019 compared to April 2018), food products became more expensive by 16.0%, non-food products - by 11.1%, services - by 13.3%.

Analysis of the structure of the impact of price changes for the month showed that in April 2019, the main contribution to the growth of the composite consumer price index, taking into account the proportion of each enlarged group, made price changes for goods (0.8 percentage points, further pp), while the share of the impact of services accounted for only 0.1 pp.

In April 2018, the contribution of the rise in prices for services (0.6 percentage points) prevailed, while the goods provided an increase in the consolidated CPI for the month by only 0.3 percentage points.

The dynamics of the impact of price fluctuations on the main groups of goods and services on the growth of the consolidated CPI for each month from January to April 2019 is characterized by a tendency to a gradual decrease in absolute terms of the effect of price changes on food products (in January - 1.2 pp, February - 0.9 pp, March - 0.6 pp, April - 0.4 pp). Along with this, the contribution of the increase in food prices to the increase in the consolidated CPI relative to the end of 2018 remains predominant (food products - 3.2 pp vs. 1.4 pp, non-food items and 0.7 pp - services).

In January 2018, the ratio of the influence of food and non-food products and paid services to the population was respectively 57.6%, 31.4% and 11.0%, February - 44.3%, 41.2% and 14.5%, in March - 54.2%, 36.2% and 9.6%, April - 17.5%, 15.1% and 67.4%.

The share of the impact of rising food prices on the growth of the consolidated CPI gradually decreased during the first four months of 2019 (January — 80.0%, February — 55.7%, March — 54.3%, April — 45.6% ).

The dynamics of the share of the impact of price increases on non-food products during this period was uneven (in January it was 13.3%, February increased to 32.9%, March decreased to 23.7%, April reached its peak - 41.3%) . The share of the impact of services from January to March 2019 gradually increased (from 6.7% in January to 22.0% in March), and in April it dropped again to 13.1%.

The dynamics of the share of the influence of price changes of food products on the growth of the consolidated CPI compared to December of the previous year repeated the trend of short-term changes against the previous month (the share of the impact of food products decreased from 80.0% to 61.4%). The contribution of the increase in prices for non-food products in specific terms, by contrast, increased from 13.3% in January to 25.9% - in April of the current year.

The share of the impact of price increases on services on the growth of the CPI aggregate in January was 6.7%, in February - 9.3%, in March - 11.6% and in April reached 12.7%.

As noted above, food products rose in price by 1.0% over the month, which ensured CPI growth for this period by 0.4 percentage points.

Since the beginning of 2019, prices for goods of this group have increased on average by 7.4%. In annual terms (April 2019 relative to April 2018), goods of this group became more expensive by 16.0%.

In April 2018, food products became more expensive over the month by 0.3%. In January-April 2018, prices in this product group increased by 6.3%. In annual terms (April 2018 compared with April 2017), the increase in food prices was 23.5%.

In January-April 2019, despite the general trend of rising food prices relative to December 2018 (7.4%), changes in prices for each month of this period are characterized by a tendency to slow down the pace of price growth. So, if in January, food products rose in price by an average of 2.8%, then in the following months, prices rose by 2.0% in February, 1.5% in March and 1.0% in April.

For the second month in a row, leadership in the growth of prices for the month among foodstuffs belongs to fruit and vegetable and dairy products (2.4% and 1.1% respectively, respectively).

In March 2019, the rise in prices for fruits, vegetables and potatoes in a month was 4.5%, while dairy products became more expensive by 1.5%.

Prices for eggs have been falling for the third month in a row (in February - by 0.2%, in March - by 1.2% and in April - by 3.1%).

In January-April 2019, fruit and vegetable production (20.5%), dairy products (9.3%) and public catering (8.8%) were in the top three in terms of price increases.

As for the end of 2018, fruits became more expensive by 27.8%, vegetables - by 16.2%, potatoes - by 7.9%.

Of the fruits and vegetables, prices for cabbage (20.1%), onions (17.3%), grapes (15.7%), 1kva (15.5%), and carrots (8.5%), potatoes (6.6%) rose most significantly. Along with this, cucumbers became cheaper by 46.6%.

As of December 2018, the lead in price growth belongs to grapes (1.7 times), watermelons and cabbage (1.5 times), tomatoes, melons and pumpkins (1.4 times). Along with this, for the four months of 2019 cucumbers have significantly fallen in price (by 38.8%).

In annual terms, the prices of cabbage (3.1 times), carrots (2.3 times), beets (1.4 times), watermelons, melons and pumpkin (1.3 times) rose more than others. Against this background, prices for garlic decreased by 35.1% compared to April 2018, apples - by 23.0%, potatoes - by 20.4%, cucumbers - by 15.4%, tomatoes - by 12.3%, bananas - by 0.1%.

In annual terms, of the foodstuffs, bread products (by 31.1%), meat and fish products (by 19.0%), dairy products (by 16.1%) and public catering (by 15.4%) went up the most significantly.

In April 2019, the prices for rice (by 1.4%) and milk (by 1.0%) rose more than others for the month. The decrease in prices was noted for poultry meat, except for chicken legs (by 1.8%) and eggs (by 3.1%).

Regarding the end of 2018, the main increase in prices was registered for milk (by 12.7%) and rice (by 7.1%). Eggs and poultry, respectively, became cheaper by 3.2% and 0.6%.

Compared to April 2018, the price level for rice rose by 63.3%, milk - by 21.7%, beef, except for boneless meat - by 20.9%, lamb - by 18.9%.

Analysis of the contribution of price changes for the main groups of food products showed that according to the degree of influence on the CPI aggregate indicator for the month, taking into account the share of each group of products, the top three include fruits, vegetables and potatoes (impact 0.19 pp), bread products ( 0.08 pp), meat products (0.05 pp).

Non-food products in April 2019, on average, went up by 1.1%, which led to an increase in the consolidated CPI for the month by 0.4 percentage points.

In general, in January-April 2019, prices for goods of this group increased by 3.9%.

In annual terms, compared to April 2018, the rise in prices for non-food products amounted to 11.1%.

In April 2018, the rise in prices for non-food products for the month amounted to 0.4%, compared to December 2017, prices rose by 5.2%, April 2017 - by 19.1%.

A study of the dynamics of price changes over January-April 2019 showed that with an average monthly price increase for this period of 1.0%, in February and April price increases were higher than the monthly average (in February, prices increased by 1.5%, April - by 1.1%).

In general, in January-April 2019 to December 2018, compared with the same indicator in January-April 2018, a relative slowdown in the growth rate of prices is traced. So, if in January-April 2018 prices for non-food products increased by an average of 5.2%, then in the corresponding period of 2019 this figure was 3.9%.

A similar situation occurred when analyzing price changes in annual terms: in April 2018, compared to April 2017, the increase in the consumer price index for non-food products reached 19.1%, and in April 2019, compared to the same month of 2018 - 11.1%.

Of the non-food product groups with the largest share, the main price increase in April 2019 was recorded for tobacco products (5.0%), personal hygiene products, fabrics and yarn (2.1%). Fuel prices for cars dropped by 0.2% over the month due to a 2.2% decline in propane prices.

According to the degree of influence on the consolidated CPI for April 2019 versus the previous month, taking into account the share of each group, the primacy belongs to clothes, which, when prices rose by 0.9%, led to an increase in the consolidated CPI by 0.06 pp

The second place in terms of the impact on the CPI aggregate indicator was occupied by construction materials (impact 0.05 pp with price growth of 1.2%).

The footwear closes the top three in terms of influence, which, with prices rising by 1.4%, led to a growth in the consolidated CPI by 0.04 pp.

Of the other groups of non-food products with a smaller proportion in April 2019, there was an increase in prices for spare parts for cars (2.0%), furniture, carpets and carpet products (1.8%), kitchen utensils and appliances (1.5%) household goods and electrical appliances (1.4%), communications (1.2%), washing and cleaning products (0.9%).

Compared to December 2018, prices for printed products (17.8%), communications equipment (11.5%), detergents and cleaning products (9.9%), foodstuffs (8.2%), basic household goods and electrical appliances (7.9%) increased significantly.

In annual terms, the highest growth was in prices for coal for domestic needs - by 1.7 times, tobacco products - by 23.5%, printed products - by 19.9%, fuel for cars - by 17.6%, matches - by 17.5%, communications equipment - by 17.1%.

The increase in tariffs for paid services to the population in April 2019 amounted to 0.6%, which led to an increase in the consolidated CPI for the month by 0.1 percentage points.

Since the beginning of 2019, tariffs in this area have increased by an average of 3.1%. Compared with April 2019, the increase in tariffs was 13.3%.

Comparison of tariff growth in January-April 2018 and 2019 showed that they increased significantly in 2018 (5.3% versus 3.1%), which was mainly determined by the increase in tariffs in the housing sector in April 2018 (for month by 9.3%).

Of the main groups of services observed, leadership in hanging tariffs per month belongs to household services (1.9%), services in the areas of recreation, housing and communal services, medicine (0.5% each), and passenger transport (0.2%).

Of the main groups of services monitored, leadership in hanging tariffs per month belongs to personal services (1.9%), services in the areas of recreation, housing and communal services, medicine (0.5% each), and passenger transport (0.2%).

Taking into account the share of each, the leading positions were divided into household (0.07 pp), housing and communal services (0.03 pp), passenger transport services and medical services (0.01 pp each).

Of the types of personal services observed in April 2019, parking fees rose most significantly (by 5.6%), repair services for garments (by 3.7%) and rentals (by 3.3%) rose in price.

Over the past four months since the beginning of the year, domestic services have risen in price by 7.2% (most significant in February by 3.5%), housing and communal services - by 1.1% (in April - by 1.1%), passenger transport - by 1.3% (in January - by 0.9%), communications - by 4.2% (in March - by 3.9%), cultural institutions - by 4.0% (in March - by 3 , 2%), sports - by 3.3% (in February - by 1.4%), for rest - by 8.0% (in January - by 4.2%), medical - by 2.2% ( in February - by 1.1%), education - by 6.8% (in March - by 6.2%).

From April 2018 to April 2019, education services (23.1%), sports (16.4%) and housing and communal services (15.3%) rose in price most significantly.