Prices in Jamaica rose sharply in December, last year by 1.2 percent for the month, up from 1 percent in November, with the yearly inflation coming in at 5 percent, data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica shows. The annual increase for 2024 is well below the 6.9 for 2023 and firmly within the 4-6 percent target the country’s central bank, Bank of Jamaica is mandated to defend.
The spike in December comes ahead of the busy high demand period leading up to Christmas as well as shortages for many agricultural items emanating from loss of production caused by the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July.
“The primary contributor to this increase was a 1.9 percent increase in the index for the ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division. 
The increase in the division’s index was chiefly influenced by a 5.5 percent upward movement in the index for the class ‘Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses’. While higher prices were observed across all classes within the division, the increase was notable for items such as sweet pepper, sweet potato, tomato, cabbage and eggs,” Statin stated.