With a high cost of living, low levels of public spending and a virtual freeze
on land transactions, it was the conventional wisdom that growth would be down
for the first part of the year. But it’s up; figures show that the economy
grew by 4% in the first half of 2008. Growth was particularly impressive in
the second quarter which registered a 7.3% spike. Leading the way for the second
quarter spurt in growth were the trade and manufacturing sectors which both
showed above 10% growth.
But that’s about the only bit of good news in a release from the Statistical
Institute of Belize on the Gross Domestic Product, External Trade and the Consumer
Price Index. And the statistics confirm what every shopper and head of household
knows: inflation has spiked seriously in the past year. In May of this year,
consumers were paying 6.9% more for goods and services – this is the sharpest
inflation spike in 12 years. And the biggest part of that spike was registered
in food and beverages which went up by a whopping average of 12.3%. Flour went
up by 51%; rice by 21% and chicken by 13%.
And while the high cost of living is something everyone knows too well –
up to now only top level bureaucrats knew that the tourism sector declined for
the first two quarters of 2008 – reflecting a decrease in tourist arrivals.
It’s probably the first time in over a decade that the tourism sector
contracted for two successive quarters. Also of some concern is that for the
first half of the year, the construction sector showed negative growth, at minus
.07%.
The trade gap also widened; Belize imported 24% more this year than it did
in the same period last year. And while exports grew by 5%, most of that was
in oil – take that out of the equation and earnings were down 9.2%.
For a closer look at these figures, visit the Statistical
Institute of Belize.
Email
Print