7 News Belize

Economy & Inflation Grew in First Half of 2008
posted (September 12, 2008)

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.

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