- Maldives' Consumer Price Index fell 1.15% in August, driven mainly by a 22.63% drop in tobacco and areca nuts prices following July import duty changes.
- Despite the overall decline, food and beverages rose 0.96% monthly and 5.69% annually, while transport costs were 8.06% higher year-on-year.
- Price patterns varied by location, with Malé prices falling 1.57% and atolls falling 0.54%, though atolls saw a 1.83% annual increase versus near-flat Malé prices.
A sharp fall in cigarette prices pushed the Maldives’ Consumer Price Index down in August, even as food and several other everyday expenses became more expensive. The figures show why a decline in the overall index may feel different from the prices households encounter when shopping.
Consumer prices fell 1.15% from July, following a 0.24% decline the previous month, according to the Maldives Bureau of Statistics. The tobacco and areca nuts category alone pulled the monthly rate down by 1.54 percentage points. Price changes across the remaining categories, taken together, pushed it up by about 0.39 percentage points.
The tobacco and areca nuts category fell 22.63% during August, with cigarette prices down 31.64%. The bureau attributed the fall to changes in import duties on tobacco products that took effect at the beginning of July. Electricity also became cheaper, while lower international airfares helped bring transport prices down for the month.
Food and beverages moved in the opposite direction, rising 0.96% from July and adding 0.28 percentage points to the overall rate. Eggs, tuna and several fruits and vegetables increased in price, although cheaper onions and reef fish offset some of those rises. Information and communication costs rose 0.81%, partly reflecting an increase in the measured price of mobile services.
The distinction is clearer over a full year. Overall prices were 0.76% higher than in August 2025, but food and beverages cost 5.69% more and transport cost 8.06% more. The tobacco and areca nuts category, by contrast, was 26.17% cheaper. The modest annual increase in the overall index therefore does not mean that food or travel costs have returned to last year’s levels.
The pattern also differed by location. Overall prices fell 1.57% during August in Malé and 0.54% in the atolls, where the decline in the tobacco and areca nuts category was smaller. Compared with a year earlier, prices were almost unchanged in Malé, rising 0.04%, while they were 1.83% higher in the atolls.
