- Construction prices were 10.90 per cent higher year-on-year in June, with road construction up 16.70 per cent, though the quarterly rate of increase slowed considerably.
- The 18.99 per cent annual education rise was driven mainly by higher education, up 47.38 per cent, while school-level prices rose only marginally.
- Resort accommodation prices fell sharply through the second quarter due to seasonal transition, ending June just 0.19 per cent below year-ago levels.
Price pressures facing Maldivian businesses remain concentrated in construction and higher education, rather than spreading evenly across the economy, according to producer price data for the second quarter of 2026.
The latest Producer Price Index from the Maldives Bureau of Statistics shows that construction prices remain significantly higher than last year, while the large increase reported for education was driven mainly by higher education. Resort accommodation, utilities and telecommunications showed limited annual growth or recorded declines.
For businesses, the clearest concern is the continued cost of undertaking construction projects. Construction prices were 10.90 per cent higher in June than during the same month last year.
Road construction recorded the sharper increase, with prices rising by 16.70 per cent year-on-year, compared with an 8.84 per cent increase in building construction. The bureau linked these movements to imported material prices, fuel costs, exchange-rate changes, labour expenses and other operational costs.
This means developers, contractors and organisations planning capital projects are continuing to operate in a considerably more expensive environment than a year ago. Road projects appear particularly exposed to these pressures.
However, the data does not point to a fresh construction price surge during the second quarter. Prices increased by 0.14 per cent in April, 0.34 per cent in May and just 0.06 per cent in June. Construction prices therefore remained at an elevated level, but their rate of increase slowed considerably.
The 18.99 per cent annual increase in the overall education index also requires context. It does not mean that prices across every level of education rose by nearly one-fifth.
Higher education prices were 47.38 per cent above their level in June 2025. In contrast, prices for pre-primary and primary education increased by 1.12 per cent, while general secondary education prices rose by 0.75 per cent.
The overall education index was unchanged in April and May before increasing by 0.23 per cent in June. Higher education prices also remained stable during April and May before rising by 0.47 per cent in June.
The figures therefore show that the high annual education rate largely reflects an earlier and concentrated adjustment in higher education, rather than a broad increase across schools or a new escalation during the second quarter. The pressure is most relevant to students, institutions and organisations financing tertiary education and professional qualifications.
The resort price index presents a different picture. Accommodation prices fell sharply as the industry moved away from its first-quarter peak, declining by 21.72 per cent in April, 13.59 per cent in May and 0.97 per cent in June.
These monthly reductions mainly reflect the seasonal transition from the high-demand winter period. By June, resort accommodation prices were only 0.19 per cent below their level a year earlier. This indicates that June pricing was broadly similar to last year, despite the steep decline from the beginning of 2026.
The resort index measures accommodation prices received by resorts and should not be interpreted as evidence that tourist arrivals, occupancy or total resort revenue fell by the same amount.
Utilities were also not a major source of upward producer price pressure during the quarter. Overall utility prices were 2.88 per cent lower year-on-year in June, with electricity prices declining by 3.64 per cent and water supply prices falling by 0.58 per cent.
Electricity and water indices can change when consumption patterns move customers between different tariff bands, even if the rates within those bands remain unchanged. The electricity decline was also affected by tariff reductions for domestic consumers introduced during the second quarter of 2025. The figures consequently do not mean that every household or business experienced an equivalent reduction in its utility bill.
Information and communication prices were largely stable, increasing by only 0.48 per cent from a year earlier. Monthly movements were influenced by telecommunications promotions and changes in consumer usage.
Taken together, the report suggests that the main areas of price strain are construction, particularly road projects, and higher education. Other sectors covered by the index showed relatively subdued annual movements by June.
The Producer Price Index measures prices received by domestic producers and is not a measure of consumer inflation. The resort component is also limited to accommodation prices at resorts and does not yet include guesthouses or tourism vessels. The findings should therefore be read as signals about conditions within individual industries, rather than as a single inflation rate for the Maldivian economy.
