Producer prices increase in first quarter of 2012

Rwandans paid more for products in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, largely due to the increase in prices of food products, beverages and tobacco, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).The statistics body said in a statement that the Producer Price Index for Manufacturing (PPI-M), the average prices received by producers for their output, rose by 6.49 per cent.Wholesale prices of food products rose by 8.35 per cent while those of beer, soft drinks and tobacco increased by 17.33 per cent. This means retailers passed on the prices to consumers, adding pressure on general inflation. In a statement, NISR said the manufacture of bakery products, pastry, and biscuits increased by 10.92 per cent, grain mill and animal feeds products 22.03 per cent while processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables went up by 34.31 per cent.“This increase is mainly attributable to price increases in food products, beverages and tobacco, which contributed 14.56 percent and other than food, beverages and tobacco increased by 0.48 per cent,” the statement said. The index for goods mainly produced for exports stood at 311.31 in January, and 311.82 and 312.08 in February and March 2012, respectively.Tea exports registered increased by4.17 per cent, 0.51 per cent and 0.26 per cent in January, February and March 2012, respectively.On the other hand, coffee exports registered an increase of 2.82 per cent in January and remained unchanged in February and March 2012.“On an annual basis, the index of export products registered an increase of 21.94 percent in March 2012 compared to the index of the same month of the previous year,” the report said.The producer price inflation for exports registered an increase of 3.30 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.