Today, the Statistical Institute of Belize published its latest statistics on the Consumer Price Index, Merchandise Trade, 3rd Quarter 2023 Gross Domestic Product, and the September 2023 Labor Force Survey.
Consumer Price Index
Results from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s most recent monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey showed that, for October 2023, the All-Items CPI, which summarizes the price levels across all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 117.2. This was an increase from 112.3 in October 2022, resulting in a national inflation rate of 4.3 percent.
The year-to-date inflation rate for the first ten months of 2023 stood at 4.5 percent. The ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ category increased by a significant 12.9 percent, as higher prices across all types of food products were recorded during the period. ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ rose by 11.8 percent, due almost exclusively to higher prices for restaurant services. The ‘Recreation, Sport and Culture’ category grew by 6.9 percent, reflecting mostly higher pet food prices. The ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance’ category saw prices increase by 5 percent, mainly due to higher costs for household cleaning and maintenance products, as well as for domestic services. The ‘Personal Care, Social Protection, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ category went up by 3.3 percent when compared to the first ten months of last year. This increase was attributed to a rise in prices for personal hygiene products.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, October 2023
Merchandise Trade
Belize’s total imports for October 2023 were valued at $243.3 million. This was a decrease of 3.4 percent or $8.5 million from imports for October 2022, which totaled $251.8 million.
Merchandise imports for the first ten months of the year, January to October 2023, amounted to $2.242 billion, representing a 0.3 percent or $6.8 million decrease from the same period last year. Notwithstanding this slight drop in overall imports, most commodity categories saw notable changes during the period.
Total domestic exports for October 2023 amounted to $28.5 million, down by 28.8 percent or $11.5 million when compared to exports for October 2022, which were valued at $40.1 million.
Merchandise exports for the period January to October 2023 totaled $361.5 million, down 17.5 percent or $76.8 million from the same period last year, when exports were valued at $438.3 million.
Click the following link to read more: External Trade, October 2023
Gross Domestic Product
The Statistical Institute of Belize’s preliminary Gross Domestic Product estimates for the third quarter months of July to September 2023 indicated that the value of goods and services produced within the country during this period totaled $1.2 billion. This was an increase of 3.4 percent or $40 million from the $1.16 billion produced during the third quarter of 2022.
Click the following link to read more: Gross Domestic Product, 3rd Quarter 2023
Labor Force Survey
Preliminary results from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s most recent round of the Labour Force Survey showed that, in September of 2023, the national unemployment rate stood at 4 percent, a decrease of 1 percentage point when compared to October 2022. This was the combined result of an additional 1,200 persons transitioning to employment, particularly in the tourism and construction industries, and others exiting the labour force.
Click the following link to read more: Labour Force Survey, September 2023
