Consumer prices increase 6.7 percent, imports up 10.3 percent and domestic exports down 29 percent in December 2022

Data from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s most recent monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey indicated that, for December 2022, the All-items CPI, which summarizes price levels for all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 112.8, an increase from 105.7 recorded in December 2021 (see Figure 1). This indicates that the country experienced an overall national inflation rate of 6.7 percent on the cost of goods and services regularly purchased by Belizean households. The category of ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ was the main driver of this increase, accounting for more than one-half of the national inflation rate for the month, as food prices continued to rise at an accelerating rate. This was followed by ‘Transport,’ responsible for just under one-third of the inflation recorded for December, with fuel prices remaining higher than in the same period in 2021.

The annual inflation rate for the year 2022, when compared to 2021, stood at 6.3 percent. The ‘Transport’ and ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ categories were the main contributors, accounting for more than three-quarters of the inflation experienced by consumers during the year 2022, with increases of 18.2 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, December 2022

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