In March 2024, Uzbekistan registered a record low inflation rate of 0.67% over the past eight years, as reported by the Statistics Agency under the President.
This marks the lowest rate since at least 2016, with March 2016 recording 0.5%, followed by 1% in 2017, 1.1% in 2018, 1.2% in 2019, 1.32% in 2020, 0.84% in 2021, 1.53% in 2022, and 1.01% in 2023.
On an annual basis, by March 2023, inflation dropped to 7.98%, the lowest since May 2016, when it reached 7.7%.
In March, food prices increased by 0.8%, while non-food prices rose by 0.5% and the cost of paid services increased by 0.7%.
Eggs saw a decrease in price by an average of 2.3%, while sunflower oil dropped by 1.1%, and beef and mutton decreased by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, according to the Statistics Agency. This marks the fifth consecutive month of declining meat prices since November. Rice experienced a price increase by 0.9%, milk by 2.6%, sugar by 1.9%, and flour by 0.9%.
On an annual basis, milk prices rose by 11.6%, eggs by 10.3%, sugar by 7.2%, and rice by 26.7%.
In the first month of spring, the prices of various fruits and vegetables witnessed notable increases: sweet pepper surged by 23.9% (compared to 11.7% in February), cabbage by 8%, tomatoes by 5.3%, lemons by 4.9%, eggplants by 4.7%, cucumbers by 4%, carrots by 3.4%, onions by 1.8%, and potatoes by 1.3%. Conversely, on an annualized basis, onions, carrots, and potatoes experienced a decrease in price.
In March, alcoholic beverages increased by 0.98%, tobacco products by 0.5%, and cigarettes by 2.6%.
Additionally, an increase in tariffs for household waste removal in the Jizzakh region led to a 2.5% average price hike for the service across Uzbekistan.
The cost of air and railroad tickets increased by 2.6% and 2.2% over the month, respectively. Air travel on international routes rose by 2.9%, while domestic flights increased by 1.8%. Railway transportation saw a 34.1% increase in prices over the year, while air travel rose by 11.9%.
Gasoline prices saw an increase of 0.1% in February, following a range of 1.2% to 6.4% in January, and a rise of 1.1% in February, contributing to a yearly surge of 25.2%, according to the Statistics Agency. Propane prices, on the other hand, experienced a decline of 3.3% to 12.4%, while methane prices remained stable, showing an overall increase of 19.3% for the year.
