Latest information from the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) indicates that consumer prices surged an average of almost 10 cents on the dollar between August 2007 and 2008. And while that is not news in itself, the most glaring fact in the press release was the declaration that the 9.6% rise in consumer prices is the highest on record for any 12-month period since 1983, making it the highest rate in 25 years.
As indicated in the accompanying table, flour prices have taken the biggest hit since last August, followed next by rice, diesel and red kidney beans. Gasoline prices are said to be 9.3% higher than last year, even though world oil prices have declined by more than 50%.
According to a report issued by the SIB today, the price escalation “appears to mirror the experience in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Citing a recent report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the SIB says, “in the twelve-month period ending in June of this year, consumer prices in eighteen Latin American countries rose by an average of 8.9%, mostly due to soaring food and oil prices.
“With the exception of El Salvador, all Central American countries recorded inflation rates between 10% and 23%. Preliminary estimates by the International Monetary Fund indicate that Jamaica and Barbados’ rates of inflation will more than double in 2008 to 20.2% and 9.0%, respectively.”
It concludes that the rate of inflation in 6 other Caribbean countries is expected to vary from 7% and 14%.
Last month the SIB released official statistics indicating that the inflation in the food, beverage and tobacco category had registered a massive change of 12.3 percent over the same period last year and 4.3% over the previous quarter.
SIB records published for the period beginning 1991 indicated that it is the biggest spike for the 17-year period.
At the time flour prices were said to be up 51%, rice prices up 21%, chicken prices up 13%. That contrasts sharply with this month’s revised data, putting the price escalation for flour at 14.5 percentage points higher, and rice almost 34 percentage points higher than the preceding figures.
Of note is that the SIB data indicates that rice prices have shown the greatest price escalation in the third quarter – June to August, at 30.5%.
Gasoline prices—the only commodity for which consumers got any ease at all—decreased a paltry 1.1% between May 2008 and August 2008. This is despite the plunge in world market prices for oil.