Jamaicans are being urged by business leaders to brace for price increases on commodity items, as the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has reported that the country ended the fiscal year with an inflation rate of 11.3 per cent.
Additionally, STATIN reported that the inflation rate for March was 1.6 per cent.
Inflation in March was spurred mainly by higher food and energy costs.
There was a 1.9 per cent increase in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, with the food category mainly influenced by higher prices for tomato, cabbage, onion and sweet pepper.
The overall rate of inflation was also influenced by a 3.9 per cent increase in the index for the division ‘Housing, Water, Electricity Gas and Other Fuels’ and a 0.6 per cent increase in the index for the ‘Transport’ division.
This was caused by higher electricity rates for the period as well as higher prices for fuels and lubricants.
For the point-to-point inflation rate (March 2021 – March 2022) of 11.3 per cent, it was the largest change since the implementation of the new CPI basket in April 2020, according to STATIN.
“The main contributors to this upward movement were the divisions: ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ (14.7%); ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ (9.6%) and ‘Transport’ (14.3%),” STATIN stated in its release.
The inflation rate for the fiscal year 2021/2022 was 11.9 per cent, the release added.
