The All-Items Index increased 6.2% for the twelve months ending July 2024.
The index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 4.9% over twelve months and was responsible for 15.0% of the overall All Items Index increase.
The Food Index rose 4.0% and contributed 74.0% to the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increase.
Six of the nine food subcategories rose over the twelve months.
The indexes for Vegetables, Bread and Cereals, Meat and Meat Products and Food Products N.E.C combined contributed 88.7% of the Food index increase. The Index for Vegetable while increasing 4.4% over the year had the largest contribution of 25.6% on Food inflation.
The change was primarily impacted by increases in the average prices of tomatoes, lettuce, canned vegetables and cabbage. The index for Bread and Cereals had the second largest impact on Food inflation. The index rose 6.1% and contributed 24.5% to Food inflation.
The Index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 6.6%.
It was affected by increases in the indexes for Miscellaneous Goods and Services, Communication and Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics and the sub index Purchae of Vehicles. The index for Miscellaneous Goods and Services rose 22.1% while the index for Purchase of Vehicles increased by 20.9%.
The index for Communication rose 16.5% followed by the index for Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics (+12.8%).
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Monthly Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4% for the month ending July 2024.
The Food index declined 1.2% in July 2024. Seven of nine food group indexes fell over the one-month period. The largest decrease was for the index for Oil and Fats which declined by 4.7%. The remaining index decreases ranged from Sugar, Jams Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery (-1.2%) to Meat and Meat Products (-2.5%).
The index for Food Products N.E.C increased 1.8%.
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 0.3% in July following a 0.3% decrease the previous month. The index for Transport Services and Purchase of Vehicle rose 13.7% and 3.8%, respectively.This attributed to the increase in the index of Transport of 5.5%. Other increases included the index for Alcoholic beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics (1.0%), Recreation and Culture (0.4%), and Health (0.4%). The remaining indexes had mixed results in either declining or unchanged.
Methodology
What is the consumer price index (CPI) measuring and how is it done?
The All Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the main measure of what is commonly called inflation, or headline inflation. It measures the change in prices, on average, from month to month, and from year to year of the goods and services bought by most households.
Prices are collected monthly and quarterly from supermarkets and other suppliers of goods and services. The pattern of household expenditure on these goods and services is derived from a regular household budget (or expenditure) survey (HBS). The prices and spending patterns (known as weights) are then combined to calculate the price indices for groups of goods and services and for the All Items index. These indices are based on expenditure patterns in 2006.
The All Items (or overall) index, with all of its twelve (12) component indices, is published each month.
For a detailed account of the methodology used in calculating the CPI, please call the Statistics Division.
Copies of the CPI for Jul 2024 can be accessed on the Division’s official website www.statistics.gov.ag
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I keep on telling you people this government needs to go. Look at the price for sardine on the receipt 14.99; peanut butter 45.89; brown egg 109.99.
Wake up my people!
Food prices continue to rise everywhere in the world. Antigua and Barbuda is no exception. It will have to start in the USA to reduce the food price and the freight prices for us to start feeling relieve. I wonder how long the world economy can keep doing this before something has to give. My opinion is when the so called develop world, North America and Europe stop funding senseless wars. The price of war is much too high. Especially in Europe. The people there are feeling it worser and worser everyday. It perhaps will take an uprising before something is done. You cannot keep up be increasing salaries. That will only work in China’s favor. Simply put they will still have the cheapest labour and therefore export will be in their favor. And if we here in these small Islands want to do something about imported inflation all we can do is to reduce import taxes, which means governments have less income to provide services to their citizens, and to repay loans to these international lenders. I mean one that studies the world economic trends is at this junction of life in time, speechless and hopeless. Because there are no signs of things getting any better anytime soon. But we must remain hopeful. Looking for example at the USA their foreign policy will only change if Donald Trump is elected. But then again it may be good economically but politically they are the ones to suffer. Donald would not promote any war. He is a deal maker. Every thing is about making money for him. So if he has to make a deal with Putin it would be a financial deal. Not about democracy or all that philosophic shit. By the way we have bee fed that medicine now for decades. But we see the US trading with China and other totalitarian states as long as the money is good. That is why they lost so much respect especially in South America and Latin America where they supported the dictators instead of the people just because of OIL. And when countries like Venezuela removed their dictators and replaced them with socialistic governments that nationalized their oilfields, they became enemies of the USA that was now promoting Democracy. Well where were they all the years before? The same can be said of Europe, they are all about ‘Human Right’ now, but they are the biggest violators of human rights in the history of mankind. All over the world they left their trademark of cruelty to the indigenous population the met. From Africa to Asia to South America. The evidence is everywhere. Conquer and subject the people wherever they went. And the brutal ways they used to achieve their goals is unspeakable of even after hundreds of years. And you now wonder how come they now want to judge you on human rights. Can Satan really correct sin. I guess that is the way of the world we live in. It was alright when I was doing it. Well there is a time and season for everything. Will we the next generation live to see another season. For now let us worry about our food security. That is enough to keep us busy. And that can only happen if and when our farmers start taking their profession to the next level. Anyone noticed the shortage of eggs we had. Strange there was no commotion no demonstration anything of that nature whatsoever. Can we afford our local farmers do that to us? Should we open the floodgates of eggs importation once again. They want protections but they cannot live up to their accountability and responsibility. Can that be right?
And truth be told they signaled to the then minister Green since when we had the SIDS conference that they will be running into problems. They asked of him to give them license to import eggs. Double standards. They want to have license to import eggs but they are the same one that lobbied the government to ban the importation of eggs. And note how egg prices have increased in just a few months. So much for buying local. Since we are dependent on tourism, I wonder what breakfast in the hotels would look like without eggs. The average person eats about three eggs for breakfast per day. So a hotel like Jolly beach with lets say 300 guest would need 900 eggs per day for breakfast only. That is 75 dozens of eggs. And if someone like Rob Barret decides he cannot be left at the whim and fancy of these undependable farmers and starts his own chicken farm to ensure he has eggs. They would be crying out loud. I believe in situations like this someone in the chicken farm society has to pay for this shortage in the market. It’s caused by bad planning. They knew long time SIDS was coming and how many guests to expect on island. Why are our reporters not calling them out. Oh because it cannot be blamed on the politicians. Well in this Little Bit Of Paradise we will keep things going this way, because everything should be about politics. Even the increase in prices in the store. Fooliish people, aren’t we.
Three eggs for breakfast you say?
Blame marijuana and the youths. Blame everything except the truth.
@Wow August 29, 2024 At 3:53 pm
I guess you never made an omelet for yourself. But it takes about three eggs to make an omelet and many people, guests in particular eat omelet for breakfast. Just ask anyone that works in the hotel, especially those working in the kitchen. And I won’t even comment on the wastage by guests. Especially when its all inclusive. And if we had a booming chicken industry we could supply the cruise ships as well. And that is big business. They have to feed 3000 to 5000 passenger per day.
@Shameful Government, you dummy, how about checking facts before posting shit. It’s obvious as there is a character before the prices that it’s a different currency. The R represents the Zar which is the South African Rand…do your research.
Note last year this time:
“The All Items Index increased 2.8% for the twelve months ending June 2023. The lowest inflation rate since January 2022 (+2.9%).” However the subsequent 12 month we have seen a figure of 6.6 percent. The good news in this report is:
“The Monthly Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4% for the month ending July 2024.
The Food index declined 1.2% in July 2024. Seven of nine food group indexes fell over the one-month period. The largest decrease was for the index for Oil and Fats which declined by 4.7%. The remaining index decreases ranged from Sugar, Jams Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery (-1.2%) to Meat and Meat Products (-2.5%).”
Looking back at recent reports:
(June) “The Monthly Consumer Price Index increased in June 2024 by 0.2%.
(May) The Monthly Consumer Price Index declined in May 2024 by 1.2% after rising 5.1% in April 2024.,,,The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inex decreased by 1.8% with the index for Food declining by 1.9%. The food category posted mixed results with four of nine sub-categories posting decreases over the one month. Notably, the index for Vegetables posted a decline of 5.8%. Both the index for Bread and Cereals and Fish seafood decreased by 4.1%.
Last 3 months have shown inflation again trending in the right direction
I wonder if some people think that goods are coming to Antigua in a flying cow? The cost of seafreight increase a lot around the World..so how people think not to rise the cost if just to produce anything you have to pay a lot for freights…There is a bunch of people and politicians in rich countries begging for stop Oil…WTF..How we suppose to move stuff around? How? There are so idiots and their policies affect everything.
@BLAME THE YOUTHS & BLAME MARIJUANA August 29, 2024 At 4:01 pm
There is no study that support the blaming of crime to the smoking of marijuana or cannabis. The people that are saying that should try smoking it themselves. Being high on Cannabis relaxes and calm down the body. That is why it is a sacramental herb for the Rastas. I had a Jamaican gardener for years and when the guy smoked he worked like a horse in the hot sun. Never see him get violent. Always cool and irie man. The youth that they claim are smoking and getting violent are not high on cannabis. They must have crack or coke in their body.
@less we forget …you work for the government???
You are on of those who going into CERTAIN super market all the time smile happy because “YOUR GOODS ” WILL BE FREE??. The same.e super market have a price in the shelves and other in the system!!!.
When the rich to be “negritos” find out in their home LOOK AT THE BILL,the system or the cashier ripoff their pocket. Governments THE THIEF ONE..will find a way to allow their COTRIBUITORS friends…stealing in all the way their people…not money for this,not money for that etc,etc,etc.blame,blame and more blame.
The inflation has nothing to do with Antigua. If we want the price of food to drop, encourage the American people to vote for Donald Trump. One of the biggest reasons why the high inflation is because of the sanctions they placed on Russia.
Does any government in the world imports groceries? Merchants do, and then add their huge mark up call price gouging. What I heard vice President Harris said just yesterday in America as she acknowledge the high cost of goods in America, is the fact that she has to crack down on price gouging if she becomes President. What the government of Antigua can do to help ease some pressure, is to enforce price control. The groceries at Epicurean, Chase, and First Choice has nothing to do with the government. They’re private institutions who set their prices to fit their pockets. If it were a government issue, then there wouldn’t be high cost of living around the world. The fact that Antigua imports everything, and nothing is manufactured, we will always have high prices that no party can fix except for price control.
So here’s the question, if a government says they’ll bring down cost of living, are they going to do their own importing as well and sell the goods at reduce cost? II DON’T THINK SO!
We need to produce more in our own region and also import from places other than the U.S. If South Americans increased food production and shipped even more to other countries then they could reduce poverty and crime there instead of trying to flee up North. Clearly the U.S. can’t currently keep up with their own demand let alone feed other countries. Food is also cheaper in a less processed state. So, just produce and purchase minimally processed food from the Caribbean and South America as well as our local farmers and even plant a little in community gardens and our own backyards.
Lol for real! 3 eggs for breakfast everyday?? Look at cholesterol!!!
@go back to God’s earth completely agree!! Processed foods are not needed! ….all it does is create an unhealthy society yet what went down according to this report? FATS and SUGARS!
We surely should be paying a LOT more attention to farming and ensuring our own food security within the region but hotels are a better business for those up to……shame
Well said 👏 farming and ensuring your own food security.