Results from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey showed that, as of November 2021, the All-Items CPI, which summarizes price levels across all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 106.1, up from 100.4 in November 2020 (see Figure 1). This indicated that the country experienced an overall national inflation rate of 5.7 percent on the cost of goods and services commonly purchased by Belizean households for the month of November 2021. This was the highest monthly inflation rate recorded since August of 2008 and was attributed to higher prices for motor vehicle fuels, various food items, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), restaurant services, and household cleaning and maintenance products. The year-to-date or cumulative inflation rate for the first eleven months of 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020, stood at 3.1 percent. This increase in consumer prices over the year-to-date was driven mostly by higher costs for food, fuel, and LPG.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, November 2021
Merchandise Trade
Belize’s total imports for the month of November 2021 were valued at $205.2 million. This was a significant increase of 59.8 percent or $76.8 million from November 2020, when imports totaled $128.4 million and reflected the continued recovery toward pre-pandemic import levels. Merchandise imports for the first eleven months, January to November 2021, amounted to $1.9 billion, representing a 32.4 percent or $463.3 million increase from the same period last year when imports totaled $1.4 billion.
Total domestic exports for November 2021 amounted to $33.5 million, up considerably by 55.8 percent or $12 million when compared to exports for November 2020, which were valued at $21.5 million. Merchandise exports for the period January to November 2021 totaled $400.8 million, up 15.8 percent or $54.8 million from the $346.1 million recorded for the same period last year.
Click the following link to read more: External Trade, November 2021
