Jamaica records 3rd consecutive month of decreasing prices: PM Holness

Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, was thrilled to announce that in March 2024, the cost of living in the country went down by 0.5%. This marked the third month in a row of decreasing prices.

According to the PM, this drop was mainly because the prices of food and drinks excluding alcohol fell by 1.8%.

He further noted that the prices of some food items, including tomatoes, yams, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, went down, causing a big drop of 8.6% in the prices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses.

PM Andrew Holness said that the Consumer Price Index measures how prices change over time for things people buy. It measures changes in the general level of prices of consumer goods and services bought by private households.

The factors which affected the cost of living in Jamaica were as follows:

Food and Nonalcoholic Beverages went down by 1.8% Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels went up by 0.9%, Transport went up by 0.2%

Meanwhile, the point-to-point inflation rate in March 2024 in Jamaica was reported to be at 5.6%, which was less than 6.2% in the same period last year. Meanwhile, food and nonalcoholic beverages stood at 4.8%, transport at 10%, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 2.9%

According to economists, the cost of living is approximately 25 percent less than in the United States, while the rent in Jamaica is around 2-3rd cheaper than rent in the US. It is also said that other than rent or mortgage, an individual just needs under US$700 to live comfortably in Jamaica each month. As PM Holness announced the development on its official Facebook account, several citizens and residents of Jamaica flooded the social media with appreciatory comments.

“Lovely news. We are happy to hear that. Jamaica is progressing nicely. Good governance makes things possible,” wrote a user named Kurt Powell, while another user said, “True, I do notice a decrease in some items, mainly salted fish.”