Edging up: Overall consumer prices rose 1.6% in September over a year earlier, the same as  the August increase.

September recorded a 1.6% year-on-year rise in consumer prices, matching the rise in August. Food prices, though, rose 4.6% in August and 6% in September over a year earlier, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The department said the implementation of the pre-primary education voucher scheme and a smaller price hike in package tours have partly offset the impact of higher food prices.

It added that netting out the Budget measure of rates concessions for the first two quarters of 2007/08, the underlying inflation rate for September remained the same as for August, at 2.7%.

Food items showing large price rises were eggs (32%); pork (30.4%); canned meat (28.8%); poultry (27.8%); beef (26.1%); frozen meat (15.8%); fresh vegetables (14%) and other meat (13.9%). 

Food inflation

Compared with 4.6% in August, prices of basic foodstuffs went up further in September because of global food inflation and a seasonal rise in prices of fresh fruits and poultry and around the Mid-Autumn festival, the department said.

The price hike for poultry was particularly sharp, due to the combined effect of seasonal surge in demand and reduced supply as a result of the outbreak of bird flu in some Guangdong poultry farms.

Year-on-year price increases were also recorded for meals bought away from home (3%), miscellaneous goods (2%), clothing and footwear (1.9%) and transport (0.3%). 

However, declines in prices were found for durable goods (-4.2%) and electricity, gas and water (-2.6%). 

Rising slowly

Taking the first nine months of 2007 together, the composite consumer prices rose 1.5% over a year earlier.

For the 12 months ended September, the composite consumer price index was on average 1.7% higher than in the preceding 12-month period.

Saying that inflation was on a slowly rising trend, the department added that recent cuts in public housing rentals and a sustained rise in labour productivity would continue to help alleviate upward price pressures in the coming months.