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The basic family food basket and inflation in the Dominican Republic have kept trending upwards since the start of 2026, with significant increases between January and May, according to data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
The basic family food basket and inflation in the Dominican Republic have been on the rise since the beginning of 2026, with significant increases between January and May, according to data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
How have inflation and the basic food basket changed in 2026 in the Dominican Republic?
Price changes during this period reflect the struggles Dominican families face in covering their daily expenses.At the end of May 2026, the basic food basket for a family cost on average 49,268.36 pesos, up 1.1%, which is 534.08 pesos more since the beginning of the year. In January, it was about 48,734.28 pesos, according to data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
This increase was seen across all quintiles. According to the country’s monetary authority, between January and May 2026, the first quintile saw its cost go up by 182.56 pesos; the second, by 293.27 pesos; the third, by 428.64 pesos; the fourth, by 529.15 pesos; and the fifth quintile, by 1,378.43 pesos.
Regional and Sectoral Impact of Inflation in the Dominican Republic
In some regions of the country, the impact of inflation shows up as an uneven increase in the cost of living across the national territory. However, price increases for key everyday consumer products have been observed.
At the regional level, the cost of the basic food basket also went up between January and May 2026. The East region is the most affected, with an increase of 681.43 pesos, followed by the North (591.94 pesos) and the Ozama region (552.34 pesos). In the South region, the increase is only 265.58 pesos.Inflation remains one of the main factors weighing on household budgets. In Quisqueya, the inflation rate was 4.98% in January 2026, then reached 5.11% in April, surpassing the target range of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) (4.0% ± 1.0%). It then rose by an additional 0.24 percentage points to stand at 5.35% in May.
Services too
The rise in the cost of services, transport, and other essential goods has put upward pressure on the cost of living.
In the services sector, inflation reached 0.42% in May alone this year, due to the increase in personal service prices, according to monetary authorities.
Moreover, year-on-year, inflation hit 6.6% in the fifth month of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
Overall, the transport sector was the main contributor to inflation, recording the highest price increase in the first five months of 2026 (2.16%), followed by services, food and hospitality (0.41%), and healthcare (0.36%).The sectors that saw the smallest increases were leisure and culture (-0.98%), food and non-alcoholic drinks (-0.58%), and clothing (-0.10%). Prices for communication items fell by 0.16% and furniture by 0.04% up to May 2026.
As a result of these trends, Dominican households faced increased pressure on their purchasing power during the first five months of 2026, due to the ongoing rise in the cost of the basic food basket and inflation that remains above the target range set by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
