High inflation and rising food prices have continued to drive up the cost of living in Taiwan. According to a recent report by the Taiwanese Budget, Accounting and Statistics bureau, prices have continued to rise throughout the past several months.

Egg prices have increased approximately 22 percent and reached the highest price within the last 31 months.

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Since May, corn prices have steadily increased upwards of 20 percent. As a result of the spike in housing, food and transportation costs, each household will have to spend an extra NT$622 ($22 USD) to account for the increases.

Hot weather that deters chickens from hatching eggs is the main factor that the Poultry Association Republic of China suggests is the cause for the steady rise in egg prices throughout the nation.

Taiwanese consumers have also reduced the number of visits to restaurants that they make.

According to the bureau, dining out costs have reached their highest point in the past 66 months.

This includes a 4.2 percent increase on average in July, when compared with the same figure in June.

Garlic, potatoes, bananas, mushrooms and corn are the top five foods which reflected the sharpest increase in prices, ranging from a 30 percent to 90 percent spike.

Taking into consideration the rising costs of staple foods, the bureau suggests that it would require a typical family with monthly expenses of NT $60,000 ($2,000 USD) to spend an additional NT$1,050 ($35 USD).

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July was 1.8 percent, which was the highest in the past 18 months, according to the bureau.

Tsai Yu-tai, deputy head for the directorate's Department of Statistics notes that inflation could be as high as three percent by the end of the year.