Africa-Press – Mauritius. The latest figures released by Statistics Mauritius indicate that year-on-year inflation stood at 3.9% in January 2026, compared to 1.9% in January 2025. This acceleration confirms mounting pressure on household purchasing power at the start of the year.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.9% between December 2025 and January 2026, moving from 108.2 to 109.1 points. Several expenditure categories contributed to this increase, notably higher prices for vegetables and workers’ wages, which together added 0.2 percentage points. Medical fees, health and home insurance premiums, and private school tuition fees also exerted upward pressure on prices.
A breakdown by major consumption categories reveals contrasting trends. The education sector recorded a marked increase of 3.7%, while financial and insurance services surged by 3.5%. Housing and energy prices rose by 2.0%, and health-related costs increased by 1.3%. Conversely, prices for transport and communications remained stable.
Underlying inflation indicators confirm this upward trajectory. Core inflation (CORE1) reached 4.3% in January 2026, up from 3.0% a year earlier, while CORE2 stood at 5.6%. Over the twelve-month period, average headline inflation came in at 3.8%, higher than the 3.3% recorded in the previous year.
Regarding average supermarket prices: a kilogram of Trader’s rice costs Rs 75.26; packaged Trader’s flour is priced at Rs 20.20 per kilogram. Fresh beef, which averaged Rs 627.30 per kilogram in December, now costs Rs 624.40. Among seafood products, La Perle fish saw a slight decline from Rs 313.55 to Rs 311.97 per kilogram. The price of whole fresh chicken remained relatively stable at Rs 215.38 in January 2026, compared to Rs 215.60 in December.
