Consumer prices rose again in the Cayman Islands during the first quarter of 2023 to 6.6% more than the same period in 2022 and 2.1% more than last quarter.
Massive hikes in the cost of food, drink, household items and utilities were among the largest contributors to the overall inflation rate.
However, all 12 divisions of the Consumer Price Index had increased by some amount, according to the Economics and Statistics Office’s latest report.
The government office measures the average prices paid over four months for 1,396 items of goods and services in Grand Cayman every quarter.
These prices are then used to estimate the Consumer Price Index and its rate of change – or the inflation rate.
Cost of living
Compared to January to March last year, the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages was up 12.3%.
Tea, coffee and cocoa prices were up a massive 50.4%, while the average cost of milk, cheese, and eggs increased by 31.1%.
Sugar, sugar confectionery and snacks also contributed to the hike in inflation with prices reaching an average of 16.5% more than last year.
It was not only food prices that left residents feeling the crunch as household equipment was 11.2% more expensive than last year and housing and utilities costs were up 7.6%.
The latter increase was largely the result of the 37.1% rise in water supply costs and 22.7% rise in electricity prices.
A spokesperson for Caribbean Utilities Company said much of the price increase is related to fuel costs which leapt from 0.14 to nearly 0.2 $/kWh from March 2022 to March 2023.
The Compass also reached out to the Water Authority for a comment and is awaiting a response.
In addition, clothing and footwear cost 6.9% more – with a 27.9% increase in items purchased locally.
Transport costs were up 4.9%, while people had to fork out 5.3% more cash for recreation and culture.
Tourists have also been affected as costs for restaurants and hotels were up 8.1% over last year.
Communication costs were up by just 1.2%, health up by 1.5%, education up by 2.3% and alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased by 3.6%.
The price for miscellaneous goods and services increased by 4.4% during the first quarter of 2023 – including a 29.2% rise in jewellery and watches.
In the US, an important source market for Cayman, inflation rates have been gradually reducing since mid-2022, hitting 4% in May – the lowest in two years.
Meanwhile, year-on-year inflation in the 38 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, while still high, fell to 7.7% in March.
‘Tough choices’
Premier Wayne Panton spoke about the “global inflationary crisis” during his keynote address at the parliamentary luncheon on Wednesday, 14 June.
“We’ve had to make tough choices, tough decisions to put more money in people’s pockets during this global inflation and cost of living crisis,” he said.
He praised his administration for introducing measures such as frees school meals, rate caps on electricity bills, removing import duty on some items, extending employee stipends, reducing fees for the elderly and providing tuition assistance.
“It is a significant list of contributions and actions that the government has taken to try to help in these tough times that people have been experiencing,” Panton said.
He told attendees that “these are uncharted times and we have to take certain actions”.
“We’ve come out of a pandemic environment and now we are facing the consequences of geopolitical disruptions around the world,” he said.
The premier said the government is mandated by law to have an annual surplus and “mandated by the people of this country to maintain fiscal security”.
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