The Ministry of Economy has said that the 5.7% rate of inflation in January-February was caused by the growing prices of foodstuffs.

Ukrainian News learned this from the press service of the Ministry of Economy, which referred to Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn.

"This inflation rate has largely formed under the pressure of rising prices of foodstuffs, which account for 52% of the consumer basket," the report reads.

The minister added that the price rise has been first of all caused by the growth in prices of agricultural products.

According to Danylyshyn, this increase should be attributed to the decline in domestic production of agricultural products and to the growing tendency in prices of agricultural products on the world market.

Meanwhile, the government and the National Bank will conduct a set of monetary and fiscal measures to prevent an excessive growth in demand.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, inflation was 5.7% in January-February, and 16.6% in the entire 2007.