In case you haven’t noticed, food is expensive and more so over the past four months. The latest numbers from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, reveal that, overall, there has been an average increase of RD$520.81 in the cost of the average food basket per family
However, this figure needs to be more accurate since this is the average of the five quintiles of the economic ladder. The first and poorest quintile of the population saw a RD$343.5 increase in the cost of their food basket, but the fifth or highest-income quintile had to pay out RD$662.28 more.
The bad part is that the increase in the first quintile represented about 1.34% of the family income while for the highest wage earners the increase was less than 1%.
The numbers of the Consumer Price Index showed that the most significant increase came in the food and beverage category, where staples such as yucca, avocados, rice, oranges, limes, and tomatoes were all significantly higher. On the positive side, family favorites such as chicken, green plantains, potatoes, and onions were slightly lower.
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El Caribe
15 May 2023