Zambia’s Southern Province has recorded the highest regional inflationary rate at 8.7%, the highest in all the ten regions of Zambia.
Meanwhile, the national inflation for Zambia for the month of April 2019 has increased to 7.7 percent from the 7.5 percent recorded in March 2019, the Central Statistical Office – CSO has revealed. The increase in the inflation rate has been attributed to the increase in prices of food products and purchase of vehicles.
Confirming the development at the CSO in Lusaka on April 25th, attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Acting Director for Census and Statistics Goodson Sinyenga said the annual food inflation rate for April 2019 has also increased to 8.3 percent compared to 8.2 percent of Match 2019 indicating an increase of 0.1 percent points.
Sinyenga also disclosed that at provincial level, the annual inflation rate increased for Lusaka, Northern, Muchinga and Southern provinces while it reduced for Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula and North-western provinces adding that Southern province recorded the highest inflation annual rate at 8.7 percent followed by Western Province at 8.5 percent. North-western province however recorded the lowest inflationary rate at 5.6%.
“Southern province had the highest inflation rate due to the price changes in food products such as mealie meal prices which have been going high. Besides that southern province has been recording an increase in inflation rate since February where food inflation rate started going up consistently hence escalating to other food products, “he said.
The southern province which used to be Zambia’s highest food producing region has been ravaged with steep climate change impact with the region receiving low rainfall and mass crop failure. Only commercial farmers with the capability to irrigate their fields have been spared. The low rainfall pattern has also affected western and southern parts of Lusaka and Eastern provinces.
The southern parts of Zambia will in the 2019/2020 Agricultural season be one of the areas that have shown that they would need relief food for the ordinary folks who depend on rain fed Agriculture. The region which is also a major beef producer will need further support for animal stock feed and veterinary medicines to deal with the climate change effects that has befallen the country.
