Image showing a Bourda Market vendor.
Food prices on the local market have increased by 3.2% according to the Bank of Guyana in its half-year report.
The report released by the Central Bank for the first half of 2024 said the increase was due to higher prices across all categories of food except for oil and fat (excluding butter).
According to the bank, the aggregated food category increased by 3.2%, reflecting higher prices for prepared meals and refreshments by 14.0%, fruits and fruit products by 12.3%, cereals and cereal products by 4.7%, non-alcoholic beverages by 3.7%, condiments and spices by 3.6% and vegetables and vegetable products by 3.1%.
Further, the Central Bank said miscellaneous goods and services index increased by 1.1%. This the report said was due to a 16.4% increase in prices at restaurants and cafes.
Additionally, medical care, health care and health services increased by 1.1%; housing transport and communication and education increased by 0.2%; recreational registered a 0.1% increase while cultural services recorded a 0.1% increase.
However, lower prices were recorded in the category of furniture – particularly for household appliances and cleaning materials by 1.5 and 0.2 percentage respectively.
The Bank of Guyana however, said real oil (GDF) and non-oil (GDP) grew by 49.7% and 12.6% respectively. The 49.7% increase of real oil (GDP) was because of mainly higher production facilitated by the additional Prosperity FPSO vessel, while the increase recorded for non-oil (GDP) was due to increased agricultural output, government spending on infrastructure development and social welfare programs.
Regionally, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), together with the European Union under EU-Caribbean Regional Food Security Programme will be sounding the call for proposals aimed at enhancing food system resilience and improving the livelihoods and food security of vulnerable populations.
The initiative which forms part of the weeks of activities in observance of Caribbean Week of Agriculture will be launched on Tuesday with funding being available under three windows: increasing access to finance for smallholder agricultural and fisheries producers (focusing on women and youth), financing scalable aquatic/agri-tech solutions, and developing sustainable food distribution channels at the regional level.
This initiative the CDB said will foster innovation, strengthen food systems, and empower agricultural communities across the Caribbean.
The EU-Caribbean Regional Food Security Programme is a four-year programme through which EUR 19 million will be invested through regional partners the CDB, International Trade Centre (ITC), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and EU member state agencies.
The programme which is led by the CDB will support Agri – Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and producers by providing access to finance, fostering innovation, and improving distribution systems to enhance competitiveness and resilience.
Additionally, the Social Protection and Nutrition Project, led by the EU Member State agencies FIIAPP and CPVA, will strengthen the inclusion of food system actors by promoting social insurance schemes and supporting agricultural producers’ access to national social protection systems, the statement said.