Food prices in Egypt rose 71.9% year-on-year in August, while transport prices increased by 15.2% and clothing prices by 23.6%, according to Egypt's Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In addition, prices of healthcare group increased by 22.8%, furniture, fixtures and household equipment by 42%, and housing, water and electricity by 7.2%.
According to the figures, the annual inflation rate in Egypt reached 39.7% last month, official figures showed on Sunday, a record level as the country suffers from a stifling economic crisis.
Inflation rose month-on-month in August by 1.6% compared to July.
Consumer prices recorded last month are the highest in more than 40 years at least, according to the Consumer Price Archive published on the Egyptian Statistics website.
In recent months, Egypt has witnessed a rise in inflation and a decline in the value of the pound by almost 50%, and local markets are still affected by the devaluation of the pound against the dollar since last year, which was reflected in import prices from abroad, in addition to the high cost of production locally.
Since March 2022, Cairo has tripled the exchange rate of the pound from an average of 15.7 pounds to the dollar to the current 30.9 pounds (the official rate).
Egypt, with a population of 105 million, is the world's largest wheat importer with more than 12 million tonnes a year, while annual domestic consumption is about 23 million, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The state's debt has ballooned under mega projects and support for many products, monetary policy to support the Egyptian pound, and Egypt is now one of the five countries most at risk of default on its foreign debt, according to Moody's.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion loan to Egypt, whose external debt has more than tripled in a decade, reaching a record $165.4 billion this year, according to Planning Ministry figures.
After relying for years on subsidies from Arab Gulf states in the form of deposits at the central bank, Cairo is trying to sell state assets or launch projects on its soil to Gulf investors, who say they want "returns on investment".