The retail prices of consumer products for Clean Monday have shown increases beyond 20% compared to last year, as recorded on March 14th by the Consumer Protection Service. These include prices for products such as hummus, tahini salad, taramosalata, eggplant salad, cleaned cuttlefish, octopus rings, and tahini pies. Notably, the price for a 400g eggplant salad saw a remarkable increase of 48%, fresh potatoes rose by 43%, genuine tahini by 34%, and mustard pickles by 30%.

Beyond these increases, significant price reductions have also been recorded. For example, the price of kouloumbres decreased by 52%, white artichokes by 47%, and cleaned cuttlefish by 21%.

Specifically, according to the Clean Monday Price Observatory published by the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, prices for vegetables and fruits (encompassing 13 products: greens, celery, kouloumbres, beetroots, potatoes, tomatoes, field/greenhouse cucumbers, Merlin/Yafitika oranges, white artichokes, Maltese oranges, and mushrooms) range from €0.32 to €5.40 for mushrooms.

Prices for various types of halva (encompassing 10 products with different brand names/packaging) start from €1.95 up to €5.99. Seafood prices (covering 15 products) range from €4.85 to €25.99. Salad prices (including 20 products) vary between €0.99 and €6.99, while prices for bakery products (comprising 6 items) range from €0.99 to €3.09.

Lastly, wine prices fluctuate between €2.95 and €6.19, and charcoal prices range from €5.55 to €7.99.

In a statement, the Service mentioned that the publication of the Clean Monday Price Observatory serves as a valuable tool for consumer information. It empowers consumers to conduct market research and make cost-effective purchases, adding transparency to the overall market picture and promoting competition.

Meanwhile, according to the key findings of the Cypriot Consumer Association, the cost of Clean Monday meals for the total array of products in the retail price comparison chart for basic goods in 2024 is more affordable compared to 2023 and 2022.

In a statement, the Association noted that the prices referred to in the table were obtained from the seasonal price observatories of the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy.

Specifically, prices for vegetables and fruits have decreased by an average of 20.53% in 2024 compared to 2023, while halva prices have shown a reduction of 7.22%.

Conversely, prices for salads, olives, and seafood have recorded increases of 2.84%, 3.79%, and 1.40%, respectively.

There is also a slight increase in the prices of bakery products and wines, by 0.49% and 4.48% respectively. On the other hand, the prices of charcoal have decreased by an average of 6.46%.