Inflation down on Bonaire, still stable on St Eustatius and Saba
In Q4 2022, consumer goods and services on Bonaire were 8.1 percent more expensive than one year previously. The inflation rate was still 12.2 percent in Q3. The decline in Q4 is largely attributable to a subsidy on the fixed usage rate for electricity that was implemented as of 1 November 2022. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the Caribbean Netherlands’ consumer price index.
On St Eustatius, prices rose by 9.1 percent year on year in Q4 2022. This was 9.0 percent in Q3. The slight rise on St Eustatius was mainly due to increasing food prices.
Inflation remained stable on Saba with consumer prices rising by 9.7 percent in both Q3 and Q4. Prices of food and products for home maintenance and repair were much more expensive than one year previously. The falling price of petrol had a dampening effect on inflation.
Bonaire: 1.9-percent drop compared to previous quarter
In Q4, prices fell by 1.9 percent on Bonaire relative to Q3. The decline was primarily due to a subsidy on the fixed usage rate for electricity on Bonaire as of 1 November 2022. Petrol prices fell by 8.6 percent relative to the previous quarter.
Prices of food products rose by 2.2 percent in Q4 relative to Q3.
0.9-percent price increase on Statia relative to previous quarter
On St Eustatius, consumer prices rose by 0.9 percent in Q4 2022 relative to the third quarter. Food and non-alcoholic drinks became more expensive relative to Q3; fresh vegetables rose 11.3 percent in price.
In Q4 2022, consumers on Saba paid on average 0.9 percent more than in the previous quarter. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.5 percent in Q4. Home maintenance products also rose in price: by 23.5 percent on the previous quarter. The price of petrol fell by 6.9 percent relative to Q3. Passenger transport by air declined by 19.6 percent in price.
Eggs more expensive on St Eustatius and Saba
The price of eggs started to rise significantly as of Q2 2022. In Q4 2022, eggs were 32 percent up in price on St Eustatius and 7 percent up on Saba; the price remained unchanged on Bonaire.
Average price development 2022
In 2022, Bonaire saw annual average price levels increase by 9.7 percent on the previous year. The annual year-on-year increase was 7.7 percent on St Eustatius and 8.6 percent on Saba.This was related to higher prices of food, transportation, housing, water and energy on all three islands.
Provisional figures
Figures over Q4 2022 and therefore also the annual figures over 2022 are provisional. They will become definitive upon publication of the figures over Q1 2023.
Sources:
StatLine - Caribbean Netherlands
https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/en/dataset/84046ENG/table?dl=769CA