Malaysia Food Inflation Edges Higher

Food prices in Malaysia rose 1.4% year-on-year in May 2026, up from 1.2% in April. The food & beverages group (accounts for 29.8% of CPI weight) showed broad-based increases as 160 of 247 items (64.8%) recorded higher prices. The rise was driven by food at home, which increased 0.3% (vs 0.0% in April), while food away from home eased slightly to 2.5% (vs 2.6%), reflecting slower increases in murtabak (4.1% vs 4.3%), fried rice (3.4% vs 3.9%), roasted pork rice (3.2% vs 3.4%), cooked fish (2.1% vs 2.7%), and roti canai (2.6% vs 2.8%). Among subcomponents, prices rose for meat (0.2% vs 0.5%), oils & fats (0.0% vs 0.1%), sugar, confectionery & desserts (0.5% vs 0.1%), and ready-made food. Meanwhile, inflation eased for fish & seafood (1.6% vs -0.2%), milk & eggs (-0.8% vs -0.3%), fruits & nuts (1.4% vs -0.1%), vegetables (-1.5% vs 1.6%), and water (-1.0% vs -0.3%), while cereals were flat at 0.1% (vs 0.0%).

Food prices in Malaysia rose 1.2% year-on-year in April 2026, following a 1.1% increase in the previous month, which had marked the softest rise in six years. Prices continued to climb for meat (0.6% vs 0.9% in March), fish and other seafood (1.2% vs 1.5%), sugar, confectionery and desserts (0.4% vs 0.5%), fruits and nuts (1.8% vs 0.5%), and food away from home (2.6% vs 2.3%). Simultaneously, prices rebounded for oils and fats (0.1% vs -0.2%) and cereals and cereal products (0.2% vs -0.1%). Meantime, inflation for food at home was unchanged from a year earlier after a 0.1% increase in March, while prices remained weak for milk, other dairy products and eggs (-0.9% vs flat reading) and vegetables (-4.7% vs -4.9%).

Food prices in Malaysia rose 1.1% year-on-year in March 2026, slowing from a 1.3% increase in the prior month and marking the mildest pace since February 2020. Price growth moderated for food at home (0.1% vs 0.3% in February), meat (0.9% vs 1.7%), fish & other seafood (1.5% vs 2.5%), and food away from home (2.3% vs 2.4%). At the same time, costs remained weak for oils & fats (-0.2% vs -0.2%), cereals & cereal products (-0.1% vs -0.5%) and vegetables (-4.9% vs -6.0%). Simultaneously, prices of milk, other dairy products & eggs were flat after edging up 0.1% previously. Inflation held stable for sugar, confectionery & desserts (at 0.5% vs 0.5%) while picking up for fruits & nuts (0.5% vs flat reading).