Berlin, May 3 (IANS): Retail food sales in Germany in March were down by 10.3 per cent in real terms, recording the sharpest year-on-year decline since the record keeping began in 1994, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said.

"The further significant increase in food prices is likely to be a reason for this," Destatis said.

Soaring 22.3 per cent year-on-year, food price inflation in March was around three times as high as the overall inflation rate in Europe's largest economy, reports Xinhua news agency.

Dairy products and eggs in particular became more expensive, with price going up almost 35 per cent within a year.

Vegetables, bread and cereal products as well as fish and seafood also became significantly more expensive, according to official figures.

"Because of high inflation, large parts of society are cutting back on food, postponing spending and incurring debt," warned Marcel Fratzscher, president of the executive board at the German Institute for Economic Research last week.

High inflation as well as the energy crisis had "significantly increased the financial hardships of many people in Germany", Fratzscher said.

German food banks already reached their limits at the beginning of the year. Demand for the free food provided has gone up 50 per cent on average across the country.

Germany's inflation rate is only expected to decline slightly to 7.2 per cent in April.

The German government is forecasting annual inflation to remain high at 5.9 per cent this year, before falling to 2.7 per cent next year.