Today, the Statistical Institute of Belize published its latest statistics on the consumer price index, external trade, and gross domestic product in the 2nd quarter of 2022.
Consumer Price Index
The most recent data from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey indicated that, for the month of August 2022, the All-items CPI, which summarizes price levels for all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 112.2, an increase from the 104.5 recorded for August 2021. This indicates that the country experienced an overall national inflation rate of 7.4 percent on the cost of goods and services regularly purchased by Belizean households. The overall change in consumer prices was driven mainly by notable increases in prices for motor vehicle fuels, transportation services, food, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), restaurant services, cinema entrance fees, and household cleaning products.
The year-to-date inflation rate for the first eight months of 2022, when compared to the same period in 2021, stood at 6 percent. About one-half of this increase was directly attributable to the ‘Transport’ category, which had a year-to-date inflation rate of 19 percent, as significantly higher prices were seen across all types of motor vehicle fuels, as well as new motor vehicles, and passenger transport services.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, August 2022
Merchandise Trade
Belize’s total imports for the month of August 2022 were valued at $230 million. This was a significant increase of 20.8 percent or $39.6 million from imports for August 2021, which totaled $190.4 million. Merchandise imports for the first eight months, January to August of 2022, amounted to $1.768 billion, representing a 34.8 percent or $456.3 million increase from the $1.312 billion imported during the same period last year.
Total domestic exports for the month of August 2022 amounted to $35.2 million, down by 44.5 percent or $28.3 million when compared to exports for August 2021, which were valued at $63.4 million. Notwithstanding the decline recorded for the month of August, merchandise exports for the eight-month period from January to August 2022 totaled $329.4 million, up 11.3 percent or $33.6 million from the same period last year, when imports were valued at $295.9 million.
Click the following link to read more: External Trade, August 2022
Gross Domestic Product
During the second quarter months of April to June 2022, the value of goods and services produced within Belize totaled $1.315 billion, according to the Statistical Institute of Belize’s preliminary Gross Domestic Product estimates for this period. This represented an increase of 13.5 percent or $156.9 million, from $1.158 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Economic growth was driven mainly by strong performances in the tertiary sector industries during the quarter, most notably in ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade’, ‘Hotels and Restaurants’, and ‘Transport’, and modest growth in the secondary sector. Activities within the primary sector saw an overall decrease, while ‘Taxes on Products’ were up by 29.9 percent, from $139 million in the second quarter of 2021 to $180.6 million in the second quarter of 2022.
Click the following link to read more: Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2022
