The inflation rate in the US recently hit a 40 year high, and in Belize, inflation for the first five months of the year is the highest it's been since 2008.
In that year, inflation reached 6.4%, and so far this year, the rate is at 5.3%.
Yesterday at the press conference held by the Statistical Institute of Belize - they explained that fuel prices are the main driver of inflation:
Melvin Perez - Statistician
"The cumulative inflation rate for the first 5 months in the year of 2022 when compared to the same period of the year 2021 stood at 5.3%. This means that overall the average cost of regular purchased good and services increased by 5.3% for the period. First we had the transport category with prices increasing by 17.3% followed by the food and non-alcoholic beverages category with prices increasing by 5.4% Then we had the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with prices increasing by 2.7% followed by the restaurant and accommodation services category with prices increasing by 5% and lastly we had the furnishing household equipment and routine household maintenance with prices increasing by 2.9%. While prices rose across all type of food items, the increase in this category was mainly attributed to higher prices for meat, cereal products, cooking oils, seafood items and fresh vegetables and fruits. Items that saw notable change in prices for the first 5 months of the year 2022 when compared to the same period of the year of 2021 were pigtail, vegetable oil, coconut oil, rice, Irish potatoes and tomatoes. Nonetheless, lower prices were recorded for some items including sweet pepper, onion, black beans and red kidney beans."
