Muscat – Vegetable and fruit prices recorded sharp increases in Oman in August, adding to pressure on household food bills as annual inflation reached 3.4%, according to official data.

Vegetable prices jumped 19% compared to August 2025, while fruits were 16.3% more expensive, data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.

Meat prices rose 9.8%, non-alcoholic beverages 3.5% and other food products 3.1%.

Prices of milk, cheese and eggs rose 3%. Sugar, jam, honey and sweets were up 2.3%, while bread and cereals increased 0.8%.

Oils and fats edged up 0.1%, while fish was the only major food subgroup to record a decline, falling 0.1%.

Overall consumer prices in Oman increased 3.4% year-on-year in August. Average inflation during the first eight months of 2026 stood at 2.9%.

Transport recorded the largest increase among the main Consumer Price Index categories, rising 8.5% from a year earlier, ahead of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 7%.

Prices of miscellaneous personal goods and services increased 6.1%, while restaurants and hotels were 3.6% more expensive.

Furniture, household equipment and routine maintenance costs rose 3.1%, education 2.2% and health 1.7%. Culture and recreation prices increased 0.4%, while clothing and footwear edged up 0.1%.

In contrast, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels fell 0.6%.

Dhahirah recorded the highest annual rate of inflation at 4.8%, followed by Muscat at 3.9% and Dakhliyah at 3.8%. Dhofar recorded the lowest inflation rate among the governorates at 2.1%.

The rise in inflation is expected to be temporary, with price pressures projected to ease from next year and remain moderate over the medium term, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) recently said.

The CBO expects the sultanate’s consumer price inflation to average 2.6% in 2026 before easing to 1.6% in 2027 and remaining below 2% through 2030.