CAIRO: The increased prices of meat, sugar, fruit and vegetables in Egypt has led to higher rates of annual inflation, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported. It said that inflation was at 12.5 percent this past month, compared with the February the previous year. The report published this month stressed that the rate of inflation in food and beverages rose 21 percent, compared to last year and only a 1.2 percent rise compared to January 2009. The agency registered a rise in the city compared with the countryside in terms of overall inflation rate increases. They said that urban inflation was at 23 percent, while in the rural areas it was 19.5 percent. For struggling families, and nearly half of Egyptians living on around $2 daily, vegetable prices continued to increase, putting more strain on local families. According to CAPMAS, vegetable prices rose nearly 70 percent from a year ago, fruit some 40 percent, while both sugar and sweets rose 25 percent. Prices of meat an poultry both increased by around 15 percent and fish another 4 percent. Staples of the Egyptian diet, milk and eggs rose five percent, while oils and fats rose 10 percent. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
