Yesterday, the Statistical Institute of Belize published its latest statistics on the consumer price index, external trade, and the consumer confidence index for March 2026.
Consumer Price Index
The Statistical Institute of Belize’s most recent monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey indicated that, for the month of March 2026, the All-Items CPI, which measures overall price levels across all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 121.9. This was an increase from 119.7 in March 2025, reflecting a national inflation rate of 1.9 percent.
The year-to-date inflation rate for the first three months of the year 2026 stood at 0.9 percent, with most major CPI categories up when compared to the first three months of last year . The biggest contributor to this was a 1.4 percent increase in ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, attributed to higher prices for meats, sugar, instant coffee, fruit and vegetable juices, soft drinks, and purified water. This was followed by a 1.0 percent rise in the category of ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’, reflecting the increase in electricity tariffs that took effect at the start of the year.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, March 2026
Merchandise Trade
Belize’s total merchandise imports for the month of March 2026 were valued at $321.4 million. This represents an increase of 38.7 percent or $89.6 million compared to March 2025, when imports were valued at $231.8 million. Merchandise imports for the first three months of the year, January to March 2026, totaled $807.1 million. This was an increase of 16.5 percent or $114.3 million compared to $692.8 million recorded during the same period of 2025.
Total domestic exports for the month of March 2026 amounted to $25.1 million, This was down by 18.7 percent or $5.8 million when compared to exports for March 2025, which were valued at $30.9 million. Merchandise exports for the period January to March 2026 totaled $65.4 million, down 9.1 percent or $6.6 million from the first three months of 2025, when exports were valued at $72.0 million.
Click the following link to read more: External Trade, March 2026
Consumer Confidence Index
The national Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) stood at 45.7 in March 2026, down by 4.5 percent from 47.8 in February 2026. The overall decrease was driven by reductions across all CCI subcomponents and was the largest month-over-month decline since June of last year.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Confidence Index, March 2026
