Rising Cost of Living: Belizeans Pay More for Goods and Services

The Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) hosted its quarterly press conference this morning.  As we told you earlier in this newscast, there was good news for the tourism sector, but in the Consumer Price Index paints a different picture for the cost of living. The latest CPI shows that Belizeans paid just under four percent more for goods and services for the first five months of 2024, than they did in the same period last year. Food prices were again the main driver of the increase, with notable price increases in various meats, fruits, vegetables, and gasoline. Melvin Perez, Statistician with the SIB, explained the various increases in the all items category.

Items that saw major increases included 360 grams of powdered milk which went up from $8.39 to $10.57, and Ground Beef which went up from $6.54 a pound to $7.22.