Zambia’s annual inflation rate has continued to increase with the rate for May, 2021 increasing to 23.2%, up from 22.7% recorded in April, 2021 mainly attributed to price increases in food prices.
A deeper review of the statistics shows that prices for some frequently sought out food items have continued to increase putting pressure on household incomes which have remained relatively flat while some homes have even lost some sources of income on the back of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Some of the food items whose prices recorded notable price increment includes meat, eggs, dried kapenta, cooking oil and sugar. The increase in price for these items accounted for the key contributors to the upsurge in May inflation .
Zambia Statistics Agency interim statistician General Mulenga Musepa stated during the monthly bulleting presentation on Thursday 25 March 2021 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the annual food inflation rate for May, 2021 was recorded at 28.5% compared to 27.2% recorded in April 2021, representing an increase of 1.3 percentage points.
Mupesa said this was mainly attributed to increase in prices of food items such as Fish such as Frozen Fish, Buka buka, Fresh Kapenta, Kapenta (Mpulungu, Chisense); and Oils and Fats like Margarine, Peanut butter and cooking oil.
Among the most essential foodstuffs, mincemeat recorded the highest year on year inflation rate at 66% while T-bone and butter recorded the second and third highest at an average price increase of about 56% respectively.
Other meat products such as mixed cut, rump steak, fillet steak, beef sausages, ox-liver, offals, chicken frozen, chicken live and brisket year on year inflation was recorded between 42 to 52%. Meat prices generally have escalated across most types.
Meanwhile, the Non-Food inflation rate for May 2021 was recorded at 1.4 percent, indicating a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the 2.1 percent recorded in Aril, 2021. This development was mainly attributed to price movements of Non-food items such as accommodation services like bed and continental breakfast single room in a guesthouse.
The annual inflation rate by province shows that the annual inflation rate for May 2021 increased for Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, North-Western and Southern province and decreased for central, Northern and Western provinces.
As food prices continue to escalate unabated, consumers have cried out to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission – CCPC to investigate and confirm if these price hikes are justified, but the commission is yet to timely investigate these consumer concerns.
CCPC had earlier directed cement firms who had hiked their prices to cut prices, but the order has been legally challenged and an appealed made to the government established tribunal, who are yet to issue their verdict.
