Food prices rise by 6% over one-year period

The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 6.16 percent in the Maldives over the last one-year period.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for March compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics show CPI across all groups declined by 0.69 percent in March, compared to February.

This decline is largely attributed to discounts on utility bills during Ramadan, which resulted in a 19.90 percent drop in the price of utility services.

But despite the overall drop in CPI, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 1.11 percent during this period.

The main contributors to this rise were an increase in the price of basic food commodities such as:

• Garlic: 75.07 percent increase
• Coconut (dry nut): 25.12 percent increase
• Papaya: 19.38 percent increase
• Young coconut: 16.59 percent increase
• Ginger: 11.71 percent increase

This increase was partially offset by a decline in some food commodities such as:

• Onion: 19.09 percent decrease
• Lime: 17.53 percent decrease
• Tuna curry cut: 15.64 percent decrease
• Potatoes: 10.92 percent decrease
• Carrot: 10.50 percent decrease

The CPI for all groups increased by 5.35 percent throughout the year from March 2024 tp March 2025, compared to the rise of 5.14 percent throughout the year from march 2023 to March 2024. 

Meanwhile, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 6.16 percent between March 2024 and March 2025.

CPI is utilized to assess inflation within households and provides data regarding fluctuations in pricing across various categories of household expenses.

According to the 2025 state budget book, the Finance Ministry expects inflation to rise by 3.4 percent this year due to planned subsidy reforms.

However, international financial institutions expect the rate to be much higher. According to the latest economic update report released by the World Bank, it expects inflation to hit 4.3 percent this year, but projects the rate will drop to 3.8 percent in 2026 and to 2 percent in 2027.

In its report, the World Bank noted that it is the low-income group that will be most affected by the planned subsidy reforms, and recommended that the government make preparations for this and take necessary measures.