A number of Northern District Social Services Consultative Committee members voiced concerns over Macau’s rising Consumer Price Index (CPI) before a regular meeting of the government-appointed body at the Government Service Centre in Areia Preta yesterday.

Committee member Luciano Conceição Gonçalves pointed out during yesterday’s meeting that according to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), the Composite Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been rising for several months in a row. In March, the CPI rose by 0.86 percent year-on-year, and in April, the CPI rose by 0.15 percent over March, among which the biggest cost increases were in the prices of eating out, domestic helpers’ salary increases, the higher prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fruit, Conceição Gonçalves noted.

Conceição Gonçalves also suggested the government strengthen its online monitoring of prices by analysing the value of retail sales and residents’ recurrent expenditure, so as to formulate more effective price stabilisation measures, as well as monitoring the city’s petroleum prices, which, according to him, could reduce the cost of goods delivered by SMEs and the transport costs of related logistics.

During yesterday’s committee meeting, fellow committee member Chan Ian Ian also raised the issue of the government’s consumer price monitoring, particularly after Macau’s annual wealth-sharing handout slated for July, and urged the Consumer Council (CC) to improve the layout and function of its online “Macao Price Information Platform”, including optimising the updating of the prices to make it convenient for residents to compare the prices, as well as increasing the number of products listed so that residents could gain a better understanding of the latest price movements. 

Northern District Community Service Consultative Council members attend a regular meeting at the Government Services Centre in Areia Preta yesterday.
– Photo: Ginnie Liang