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A certain slowdown in inflation was observed in May 2026, meaning that prices are still rising but at a slower pace compared to April.
A certain slowdown in inflation was observed in May 2026, meaning that prices are still rising but at a slower pace compared to April. The deceleration is explained by a smaller increase in the prices of certain items in the household basket, according to the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Informatics (IHSI) in its monthly section called ‘The CPI Corner’.This trend is happening in a context where oil product prices, especially gasoline, have seen a decrease over the month under review. In fact, since June 15, prices at gas stations in the Haitian capital have been as follows: a gallon of diesel has dropped from 825 to 790 gourdes, and a gallon of kerosene from 845 to 785 gourdes. Meanwhile, the price of a gallon of gasoline remains unchanged at 700 gourdes.
By doing so, the General Consumer Price Index (CPI, base 100 in 2017-2018), which stood at 610.5 in April, rose to 617.9 in May, showing monthly and annual changes of 1.2% and 20%, compared to 3.4% and 21% the previous month, according to IHSI.
The products that were mainly responsible for the slowdown in the annual rise of the CPI in May are:
Food and non-alcoholic beverages: Rice (23.6% in May, down from 24.6% in April), Corn (20% in May, down from 21.2% in April), Meats (27.4% in May, down from 28.5% in April), Fresh fish (26.7% in May, down from 27.2% in April), Herring (23% in May, down from 24.9% in April), Edible oil (20.8% in May, down from 21.6% in April), Bananas (19.7% in May, down from 21.5% in April), and Peas (22.1% in May, down from 23.3% in April). Clothing and footwear: Fabrics (20.5% in May, up from 20.3% in April), Garment making (18.3% in May, down from 22.9% in April), and Suit, jacket (20.3% in May, down from 21% in April). Housing, water, gas, electricity, and other fuels: Rent (22% in May, down from 24.8% in April), Charcoal (27.5% in May, down from 28.4% in April), Propane gas (26.8% in May, down from 29.8% in April). Transport: Private vehicle maintenance (26% in May, down from 28% in April), Gasoline and diesel (30% in May, versus 34.4% in April).
Restaurants: Meals eaten out (23.6% in May, versus 24.6% in April).
According to the trend observed for years in Haiti’s consumer market, the prices of local and imported products don’t move in the same range during the month of May. Local products rose by 20.6%, while imported products rose by 19% year-on-year.
From a regional perspective, the level of inflation varies from one region to another in May 2026. The Metropolitan Area (Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Pétion-Ville, Carrefour, Tabarre, Cité Soleil, and Croix des Bouquets) experienced the highest inflation with a rate of 23%. The Rest of the West region (Departments of South-East and West excluding the Metropolitan Area) comes in second with a rate of 23%. The Transversal region (Departments of Centre and Artibonite) follows with a rate of 22.6%.The South region (Departments of the South, Grand’Anse, and Nippes) comes in fourth place with a rate of 21.7. Bringing up the rear is the North region (Departments of the North, North-East, and North-West), which, with a rate of 20.1%, is the region that experienced the lowest inflation rate in May 2026, that is 20.1% in May 2016.
