The food index increased 6.1% and remained the main contributor to the rise in inflation during June, said Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin.

In a statement, Uzir said that except for communications, all groups recorded price increases, with the subgroups in food and non-alcoholic beverages recording increases of between 2.8% and 11.9%.

The vegetable subgroup increased 8% while the milk, cheese and eggs subgroup went up by 12.7%.

He said that chicken, which is the largest weighted CPI item in the meat subgroup (46.1%), increased 17.2%, compared with a 13.4% increase in May.

The average price of processed chicken in June was RM10.02 per kg compared with RM8.55 per kg in June 2021.

“The increase in chicken prices is in line with the increase in global food production inputs such as maize (14.8%), wheat (60.9%) and soybeans (19.9%), which are the largest composition in the preparation of chicken feedstuff,” he said.

He also noted that the “food at home” and “food away from home” subgroups inclined 6.1% and 6.6%, respectively.

Among the “food away from home” that showed increases were roti canai (10.5%), rice with side dishes (9.7%), cooked beef (7.8%) and food made from noodles (7.0%).

Uzir said that for the other sectors, transport increased 5.4%, followed by restaurants and hotels (5%), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (3.4%), miscellaneous goods and services (2.2%) and recreation services and culture (2.2%).