The consumer price index (CPI) on all food groups increased during the first three months of 2023.
According to the statistics released by Maldives Bureau of Statistics, the CPI on all food groups increased by 6 percent in March which is a 70 percent increase compared to the same period of last year. The CPI on all food groups in March 2022 stood at 2.5 percent.
The highest price inflation in food items were observed in lemon, carrot, coconut, orange, and fish. While food and non-alcoholic beverages observed a 1.01 percent increase during the review month. From February 2022, fish prices increased by 1.28 percent.
Statistics also revealed that the Maldives inflation rate rose to 4.6 percent in March, which is the highest
record in the past four years. Maldives inflation rate stood at 3.5 percent by the end of 2022, indicating a 1.1 percent increase so far in 2023.
While the prices on all consumer goods increased, the government increased General Goods and Services Tax (GGST) to eight percent from six percent effective from January 2023.
Meanwhile, statistics from International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that the overall global inflation rate is at seven percent, while the inflation rate in developing nations is on average around 8.6 percent.
Several international financial institutions also claim that the prices on all consumer goods are likely to rise in the near future owing to the increase in global oil prices.