Cabinet lays down the law to importers and wholesalers: No price gouging or bloating

Published by BBNTEAM at April 13, 2023

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Posted: Thursday, April 13, 2023. 3:47 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: In this week’s Cabinet Brief the top story is the effects of global inflation on Belizeans’ cost of living.

Before Easter there were meetings with the mostly Chinese retail community, who have shifted blame to the importers and wholesalers of goods for their increasing costs – sometimes daily rather than weekly.

The Executive has instructed that the new sub-committee on inflation meet with major importers and wholesalers with a view to eliminating gouging or bloating at every level of the supply chain.

According to the Statistical Institute of Belize, the year-to-date inflation rate for the first two months of 2023 stood at 6.5 percent. Prices for ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ were 14.9 percent higher than they were in the first two months of 2022, primarily due to higher prices for cereal products, dairy products, meats, vegetables, cooking oils, and fresh fruits. The ‘Transport’ category recorded a year-to-date inflation rate of 8 percent, reflecting higher prices for diesel fuel, premium gasoline, and passenger transport services. ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ recorded a cumulative inflation rate of 9.1 percent, due to higher prices for restaurant services. Among the remaining categories, notable price increases were seen in items such as pet food, household cleaning and maintenance products, and personal hygiene products.

While inflation is a global pandemic, Cabinet says it realizes that it must do everything in its power to mitigate the impact on our people.

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