(Business in Cameroon) - At the end of March 2015, consumer product prices rose by 2.8% in Cameroon. This is 1.5 % higher relative to the same period last year, according to a study by Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics (INS in French). “In the last 12 months, the increase has been an average of 2.3% compared to 1.7% observed in the same period a year ago,” states the INS.

Behind the price increase is the hike in transportation costs (11%), which itself follows the average increase of 15% on fuel at the pump (premium rose from 569 to 650 FCFA and diesel rose from 520 FCFA to 600 FCFA), as of July 1, 2014.

Then there was an increase (4.2%) in “the prices of restaurant and hotel services which worsened” due to price increases in beer and wine after the government increased duties on these products in 2015.