New official data released by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) confirms that the nation’s annual inflation rate climbed to 4.6% in June 2026, as soaring costs across three critical household spending categories put growing financial pressure on ordinary Belizeans.
The SIB’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key metric that tracks aggregate price changes across a broad basket of consumer goods and services, reached 125.3 in June this year, up from 119.7 recorded in the same month of 2025. For the fourth consecutive month starting in March, the transport sector has remained the single largest contributor to overall inflation. When combined with price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing-related expenses, these three segments account for more than 75% of the total annual uptick in consumer prices. In a rare point of stability, insurance and financial services were the only spending category that recorded no meaningful change in prices year-over-year.
Transport costs overall jumped 13.6% compared to June 2025, with pump prices for vehicle fuels driving almost all of this increase. Diesel saw the steepest surge among fuel products, rising nearly $4 per gallon to land at $15.33, up from $11.42 a year earlier. Premium gasoline climbed from $13.21 to $15.55 per gallon, while regular gasoline rose from $11.56 to $13.78 per gallon. Beyond fuel costs, passenger travel services also saw significant increases: bus fares, taxi rates, and international airfares collectively rose 15.5% over the 12-month period.
For food and non-alcoholic beverages, the annual price increase came in at 3.2%. Among all grocery items tracked by the SIB, sugar recorded the largest proportional jump, rising nearly 18% from $1.22 to $1.49 per pound. Other notable increases that stretched household grocery budgets include an 18.6% rise in cucumber prices, a 15.4% jump in tomato prices, a more than 10% increase in ground beef, and gains of over 8% for whole fish, turkey, and grapes. Instant coffee prices also rose sharply, up nearly 14% year-over-year.
Despite broad upward price movement across the grocery sector, consumers saw modest relief on a handful of staple produce items. Onions, black beans, plantains, okra, and carrots all dropped in price compared to June 2025, providing a small offset to higher costs for other goods.
The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other household fuels category recorded a 3.9% annual increase, driven largely by higher electricity and water tariffs that went into effect at the start of 2026. A 100-pound cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also rose nearly $1, going from $128.46 to $138.35. Increasing residential rental rates added further upward pressure to this core household spending category.
The health sector posted the second-highest inflation rate of any consumer category at 7.0%, with the increase tied directly to higher fees for hospitalization and surgical procedures. Additional modest increases were recorded across other sectors: restaurant and café prices rose 3.4%, while clothing and footwear costs climbed 3.3% amid higher price points for both men’s and women’s apparel.
Inflation impacts are not evenly distributed across Belize’s regions, the data shows. Residents of the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area experienced the steepest cost increases nationwide, with a local annual inflation rate of 6.0% driven by broad higher prices across transport, groceries, electricity, rent, medical services, dining out, and clothing. At the other end of the spectrum, San Pedro Town recorded the nation’s lowest regional inflation rate at 3.4%, thanks to comparatively smaller increases in sea fares, dining costs, LPG, and medical services.