Wholesale prices of white maize have been overall declining since September 2023 in most countries of the subregion due to increased supplies from the main season harvest and year-on-year larger imports. In March 2024, prices continued to decline month-on-month in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. In Guatemala, prices remained virtually unchanged for the third consecutive month due to adequate market supplies. Compared to the high price levels observed in March 2023, white maize prices were about 15 percent lower year-on-year in Guatemala and around 20 percent below those a year ago in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. In Mexico, wholesale prices of white maize showed mixed trends in March. In Culiacán (Sinaloa State) and the capital, Mexico City, prices rose due to unfavourable production prospects for the 2024 minor crop, to be harvested from April. In other major markets, prices were stable or declined, with the arrival of supplies from the 2023 main season harvest, completed in January 2024. Across major markets, prices were near or below their year-earlier levels, except in Xalapa market (Veracruz State), where prices remained about 35 percent higher year‑on‑year.

Following seasonal declines in the past four months, wholesale prices of black beans rose moderately in March in Guatemala, due to lower seasonal supplies. Prices remained 15 percent up from a year earlier following sustained increases between February and October 2023. In Mexico, the ongoing minor harvest provided seasonal downward pressure on prices. However, prices remained between 22 and 32 percent higher year-on-year across major markets due to production shortfalls in 2023. Wholesale prices of red beans rose for the second consecutive month in Nicaragua, despite the apante season harvest in March 2024, which is officially estimated to have increased on a yearly basis. The increase is due to larger exports between December 2023 and February 2024, which were about 13 percent higher year-on-year. Rising prices in Nicaragua, the subregion’s major red bean supplier, contributed to a strengthening of prices in El Salvador and Honduras in March. While prices in Nicaragua were 6 percent above their year-earlier levels, they were about 8 percent lower year-on-year in El Salvador and Honduras.

In Costa Rica, retail prices of rice held steady in March 2024 and were near their year-earlier values, as a significant drop in the 2023 harvest was offset by abundant supplies from imports in 2023, which were 45 percent higher than in 2022. In the Dominican Republic, retail prices of rice continued to increase by 5 percent month-on-month in March and were 25 percent up from a year earlier, reflecting lower year-on-year paddy outputs in 2023.

In Haiti, retail prices of staple food items rose generally in February 2024, as worsening insecurity hindered market operations and affected access to markets. Roadblocks constrained the movement of goods, reducing food availability. Prices of domestically-produced maize meal and black beans remained overall above their February 2023 values, reflecting lower year-on-year domestic outputs and the functionality of, and access to, markets restricted by heightened insecurity.