Cambodia’s inflation rate rises to 7.1% in June

August 22, 2011
Ebeling Heffernan

Cambodia’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate has continued to rise to 7.1% in June, up from 6.5% in May and 5.1% in April, according to the latest statistics released from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) Monday.

“The main increase for the 7.1% rate of inflation in June this year was due to group of food and non-alcoholic beverage; alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics; clothing and footwear; transport; restaurants; and miscellaneous goods and services,” the report said.

The data recorded that from May to June this year, the prices for food continue to increase by 0.7%, the price of meat increased by 1.5%, the price of fish and seafood increased by 1.9%, the prices of pork and beef rose by 1.5 and 2.7% respectively.

Rat meat: Staple food for poor Cambodians ... living under the prosperous Hun Sen regime

San Smey eats a piece of roasted rat in the provincial town of Battambang, Cambodia, February 19, 2004. (Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)
Cambodian shoppers search through rodent meat at a market in the provincial town of Battambang, approximately 290 km (181 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh in this file photo.The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, officials said on Wednesday. (Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)

Cambodian National Bank predicts 20 pct inflation for 2008 [... this is just the official inflation rate ... in reality it may be even much higher!]

18/8/2008
Xinhua

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has predicted annual inflation could rise to 20 percent this year, substantially less than earlier in the year, local newspaper the Mekong Times reported today.

NBC Governor Chea Chanto was quoted as saying that "the annual inflation rate may stand at 20 percent owing to the effectiveness of the package of measures though the inflation rate rose to a remarkable level early this year."

He did not reveal how high inflation was earlier in the year, saying only that price rises were driven by global problems, including a mortgage crisis, the depreciation of the US dollars, the slowing of the US economy, rising oil prices, regional natural disasters and insufficient harvest.

The NBC has strengthened macroeconomic stability for sustainable economic development, Chea Chanto claimed.

Though growth dropped slightly and has been affected by outside factors, the exchange rate of the riel and value is stable compared to the US dollar, he said.

Cambodia Economists Predicts Slower Economic Growth [-General commodity price of Cambodia has increased by some 66% since the beginning of the year]

PHNOM PENH, July 2 (Bernama) -- The Cambodian Economic Institute has predicted that the country's economic growth will slow down due to inflation and stagnation of real estate transactions.

Both the factors will drag Cambodia's leg of the economy and is expected to cause more problems hence after, China's Xinhua news agency quoted the institute experts, as saying at a month-seminar on domestic economic situation.

According to official statistics, general commodity price of Cambodia has increased by some 66 percent since the beginning of this year.

Meanwhile, most real estate projects and transactions are on hiatus due to political calculation of the ongoing general election.

The Cambodian government and international financial institutions once estimated that the economic growth rate of Cambodia will reach seven to nine percent in 2008.

The economic growth rate of Cambodia stood at double digits during the past three years due to strong exports of garments and a booming market of infrastructure construction.

Son Chhay asks why the CPI is no longer published

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

On Wednesday, SRP MP Son Chhay asked Chhay Thorn, the planning minister, to clarify about the reason why the government stopped publishing the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI), the request was made after the government stopped publishing this rate of inflation index for a few months. The Mekong Times reported that, in his letter dated 25 June sent to Chhay Thorn, Son Chhay asked what is the concern the government has for it to stop publishing this rate of inflation index. Son Chhay said that the CPI is very important for the people to know so that they can adjust their spending in function of their meager income. He said that unofficial report indicated that the rate of inflation rose to 30% in May 2008, this maybe due to the government unsuccessful attempt to control the galloping price inflation, this was why the government prohibited the publication of the CPI index for last month. Son Chhay said that maybe the government is afraid that people may know that it is unable to control goods price inflation, that was why it closed the publication of the CPI. Chhay Thorn clarified that the reason that the government did not publish the CPI was because of technical problems, and the delay in the publication of this index must be discussed among the various ministries and experts.