The Consumer Protection Service has published its Basic Consumer Goods Price Observatory for July 2026, tracking the average weighted price of 250 essential consumer products — food and other goods — based on daily prices and quantities recorded across 400 retail outlets island-wide throughout the month.
The Observatory is designed to give consumers an objective comparative snapshot of prices across all types of retail outlet, including supermarkets, bakeries and kiosks.
The July figures reflect the continued price increases recorded by the Statistical Service over the past four months following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with annual inflation running at 2.9%, against 3.1% in June, 2.5% in May and 2.8% in April — driven mainly by sharp rises in petroleum products, up 12.2%, and agricultural produce, up 8.2%.
Of the 45 product categories tracked by the Observatory, 31 recorded price increases and 13 recorded decreases month-on-month, with one unchanged, while 39 of the 45 categories showed increases compared with July 2025.
Categories recording the sharpest monthly rises included fresh vegetables and greens, up 32.4% (up 46.0% year-on-year); frozen molluscs and shellfish, up 12.3% (up 0.8% year-on-year); barbecue charcoal, up 3.6% (up 5.1% year-on-year); cooking stock, up 3.5% (up 8.4% year-on-year); vegetable cooking fat, up 3.1% (up 6.7% year-on-year); pasta, up 2.2% (up 4.8% year-on-year); and cooking oil, up 2.2% (up 2.1% year-on-year).
Among the 13 categories recording monthly falls, the most notable were laundry detergent, down 5.2% (up 5.2% year-on-year); gas cylinders, down 4.2% (up 16.9% year-on-year); soft drinks, down 2.5% (up 6.4% year-on-year); frozen fish, down 2.2% (up 7.4% year-on-year); and breaded, pre-cooked frozen fish, down 1.6% (down 18.3% year-on-year).
The Consumer Protection Service stressed that the Price Observatory is prepared solely for consumer information purposes and does not constitute advice, nor can it substitute for consumers’ own market research based on their individual preferences, circumstances and needs.
It noted that some products included show quality differences that cannot be accounted for, and urged consumers to carry out proper market research before making purchases, taking the Observatory’s findings into account.
