Inflation Dutch Caribbean highest on St Eustatius

Inflation on St Eustatius was 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011. This was higher than on the other two islands in the Dutch Caribbean. On Saba inflation was 4.1 percent, on Bonaire it was 3.7 percent.

Inflation Dutch Caribbean, first quarter 2011

Hotels and restaurants and transport cost substantially more on St Eustatius

Prices on St Eustatius were particularly higher in the hotel and restaurant sector. Prices in cafes, bars and restaurants and for accommodation were more than 21 percent higher in the first quarter than in the same period last year. Transport also cost more: prices in this sector were nearly 17 percent higher than last year. Prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 5.7 percent, a much larger increase than on Bonaire and Saba.

Hotel and restaurant prices also shoot up on Saba

On Saba, too, prices in the hotel and restaurant sector rose sharply. Consumers on this – the smallest - island in the Dutch Caribbean, had to pay nearly 21 percent more for dining and drinking out in the first three months of 2011 than twelve months previously. Prices of transport on the island were nearly 9 percent higher than in the first quarter last year.

Clothing more expensive on Bonaire

On Bonaire, the largest island of the Dutch Caribbean, prices of clothing and shoes increased by most: almost 13 percent. Prices in hotels and restaurants and for transport also rose, but by considerably less than on the other two islands. Prices of health care and communication, however, increased by more on Bonaire than on St Eustatius and Saba.

Source: StatLine, Inflation Dutch Caribbean