Looking ahead to St Valentine’s Day on 14 February 2024, analysis of the National Average Prices basket also reveals that it might also be more expensive to shower your special someone with traditional gifts such as chocolates and flowers.
Chocolates have risen by almost 9% in the 12 months to December 2023, while flowers are up slightly by 0.7%.
St Valentine’s Day also falls on Ash Wednesday this year, a time usually associated with lent when people might give up cigarettes or alcohol for 40 days. Looking at those items, the cost of cigarettes has increased by 6%, with the price of a box of 20 filtered cigarettes going from €15.39 to €16.34 in the 12 months to December 2023.
The price of a pint of stout has gone from €5.20 to €5.64, or has risen by 8%, in the 12 months to December 2023, while the price of a pint of lager has gone from €5.73 to €6.06 or was up almost 6% in the year.
The updated basket of goods and services used for National Average Prices will be published at 11am on 15 February 2024 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) January 2024 release. The items in the basket were last updated in 2017. The updates to the basket of goods and services reflect changing consumer buying habits.
An online press conference will take place at 11am on the day to outline and explain the changes being introduced to the basket of goods and services included in the CPI. Please email cpi@cso.ie for more information.
| Press Office | (+353) 21 453 5000 |
|---|---|
| cpi@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Cost of Pancake Ingredients on the Rise
Ahead of Pancake Tuesday on 13 February 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has calculated the costs of making pancakes using the prices of some of the items we collect as part of our National Average Prices basket. These prices form part of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation in Ireland.
Our analysis has found that the cost of making a basic pancake has risen by 3% over the course of the last 12 months.
The National Average Prices basket of goods and services shows the cost of buying the ingredients for a basic pancake mix using eggs, milk, and flour has gone up by 3% in the 12 months to December 2023, the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.
The cost of 2kgs of white, self-raising flour has gone up by 10% over that 12-month period, while the price of a half-dozen large eggs has increased by 3%. The only basic ingredient for pancakes that has fallen over that period is 2lt of full fat milk, which is down 3% in the year.
In terms of actual prices, flour has gone from €2.39 to €2.62, eggs have increased from €2.16 to €2.21, while the average price of 2lt of milk fell from €2.26 to €2.18 over the 12 months to December 2023.
If you want to add a sprinkling of sugar to your pancake, the cost for 1kg of white, granulated sugar has risen by 24% over the course of the 12 months. By adding that spoonful of sugar to your pancake, the total cost of making pancakes goes up by 6.4% over the 12 months to December 2023.
In terms of prices, the average price for 1kg of white, granulated sugar has gone from €1.51 to €1.88 over that period.
It is worth noting the average price of lemons or lemon juice are not included in the average basket of goods and services.