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By Javaughn Keyes
Jamaicans paid an average 6 per cent more for food items in the last year.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has released the latest inflation data, which also showed there were higher prices for non-alcoholic beverages.
Consumers faced an average 6.3 per cent rise in prices for goods in the 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages' category.
This was for the 12 month period ended August 2024.
STATIN says food prices in particular were up an average 6.3 per cent, mainly as a result of a 17 per cent increase in the cost of 'Fruits and Nuts'.
'Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses' also went up, with a 10.8 per cent increase.
Within the 'Fruits and Nuts' class, there were higher prices for ripe bananas, papaya, pineapples, watermelon and dried coconut.
STATIN says the 'Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses' class was impacted by increased prices for produce such as sweet pepper, tomato, cucumber, yam and green banana.
Looking at the month of August 2024 alone, the cost of 'Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages' were up an average 4 point 1 per cent.
STATIN says this is the highest monthly increase since the start of the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series in April 2020.
Compared to July, 'Food' prices specifically went up by 4.3 per cent.
'Non-alcoholic beverages' went up by 0.4 per cent.
The national statistics agency says the upward movement in the 'Food' group was due to higher prices for most agricultural produce, due to supply shortages caused by Hurricane Beryl's impact on the agricultural sector.
St. Elizabeth, a key supplier for some produce, was the hardest hit parish.
The increase in 'Non-alcoholic beverages' was influenced mainly by a 0.5 per cent increase in 'Fruit and vegetable juices', and a 0.3 per cent rise in the cost of 'Water, soft drinks, and other non-alcoholic beverages'.
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