Official figures show that factory gate prices - prices of goods before they reach the consumer - rose by 1% in January.
The Central Statistics Office said the main factors in the rise were a 1.8% jump in prices of meat and meat products, and a 1.6% increase in the 'other foods' category, which includes bread and confectionery. Pharmaceutical prices were up 1.3%, but chemicals fell 2.2%.
The CSO said the annual rate of increase in wholesale prices in January was 1.3%, the biggest annual rise since June last year.
A breakdown of wholesale prices showed some big increases in prices of building materials. Though these were up 0.4% in the month, prices of copper materials have jumped by almost a third over 12 months, while reinforcing metal prices are up almost 20%.
Energy prices also rose strongly, up 1% over the month and 5.2% over a year, with petrol rising by 2.9% in January and 15.3% over 12 months.
