The government’s cost-of-living interventions helped to contain consumer prices throughout 2025, with the 12-month inflation rate estimated at 2.5 per cent at the end of the year, according to Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.
Dr Singh made the disclosure on Monday while presenting the 2026 National Budget to the National Assembly, noting that the measures were aimed at limiting the impact of imported price pressures on the Guyanese people.
Throughout 2025, the government implemented a range of proactive policies to reduce costs for households and businesses. These included the maintenance of a zero-per cent excise tax on petroleum products, reductions in the price of refined petroleum products at the pump, and the abolition of bridge tolls on the Demerara River Bridge, Berbice River Bridge and Wismar Bridge.
Additional measures included the extension of the adjustment of freight charges to pre-pandemic levels for the calculation of import taxes, as well as the distribution of fertiliser to farmers to help lower production costs in the agricultural sector.
According to Dr Singh, inflation in 2025 was driven primarily by food prices, which increased by 4.4 per cent and contributed 2.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate.
Within the food category, meat, fish and eggs accounted for 0.6 of a percentage point, while vegetables and vegetable products contributed 0.5 of a percentage point to overall inflation.
Dr Singh said the overall inflation outcome reflects the effectiveness of the government’s interventions in moderating cost pressures during a period of global economic uncertainty.