The rising cost of food in the country has pushed inflation up to 10.9 percent this month from 10.1 percent recorded in April.
This represents a 0.8 per cent rise in inflation.
CSO Deputy Director, Modesto Banda said price increases on commodities such mealie meal, meat fresh, vegetables, cooking oil, milk sugar and other processed food has contributed to the rise in the inflation rate.
He was speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka.
The development implies that Zambia exported more than it imported in value terms last month.
[ZNBC]
Yet *****s like Moderate (on Fulfil Promises, Levy Tells G8 blog) are saying the economy is booming. What he doesnt understand is even the US and British economies are not doing very well. But one only feels sorry for our frail economies in Africa because things will only get worse. A very good excuse for our selfish leaders to fall back on.
It is very difficult to understand and justify why Zambia suffers from food insufficiency. Because zambia has many learning institutions that effectively teach agriculture sciences, animal husbandry, food sciences including scientific research that the govt can use effectively to make this insufficiency a thing of the past overnight. Namely, these are, UNZA, NRDC, provincial HQ agric colleges, mount makulu scientific research, etc. Maybe, above all, zambia is endowed with extremely fertile land, copious rainfal, as well as fresh lakes, rivers, and underground waters. In fact the whole southern africa’s 40% of water is in Zambia. That means the remaining 60% of fresh water is shared…
…amongst the rest of the countries in the southern region. NRDC used to take in even students from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia including south africa. These professional graduates from zambia are now being effectively used by their respective govts u will never hear any food shortages in those countries. Cant our zambian politicians, please, wake up from their long sleep and invest the money where it is supposed to be invested? Eg, not just meagre but pump more into these institutions by paying teachers and researchers comfortably, acquiring state-of-the-art technology to tuckle all agricultural research aspects,set up more agric universities in all provincial HQs,…
…inact a law which enables companies to adopt these universities. This is coz companies can easily afford state-of-the-art technology which in turn can be passed to students in those adopted universities. And then assist and encourage citizens to invest in farming by way of introducing the same or even better incentives offered to foreign investors. And then without having to wait for investors the grz should start setting up food processing industries which can in turn be frenchised if at all thats the way forward. These food processing plants can greatly avoid wastages like we see with Mwinilunga pineapples, mangoes, cashewnuts, guavas, oranges, bananas, etc…
…another thing our tomatoes just go to waste. I have just been watching a program on tv which amongst other topics included food shortages and high prices. It is estimated that it will take at least 10 years for the high food prices to stabilize. Now, Zambia can greatly gain out of these world-wide food shortages by implementing the above mentioned measures. Otherwise our president will continue to be proud of going round with the begging bowl to western countries. And with the pledge by western countries to pump money into zimbabwe when Mugabe goes we will definitely start begging from zimbabwe. I am pretty sure Zmbo can never make another mistake.
Apparently, I had read an article in…
…1 of the Zn newspapers where 1 of our ministers visited some of Lesotho’s (correct me), food processing factories. He found pineapples drinks and said when he goes back to zambia he will introduce the same idea to his govt of making drinks from pineapples. He also found that Lesotho manufactures international standard freeges which are exported even to europe and other countries. All these things amazed him. I found his amazement very irritating and stupid. Where does he think juices (drinks) are processed from? At the same time, if our engineers in zambia were respected, utilized in research and manufacturing and paid real money wouldnt they be able to design and produce freeges, stoves,
…and telephones? Because, all these things work on very simple physics principles. What lacks in zambia is the concern of the grz to invest in those areas, more than 40 years independence. I remember in UNIP days some ministers could even go to the pulpit just to go and utter sh*t, and I quote, “you will be dying with your degrees”. Probably, this was rupia banda’s vomit-correct me.
Alexander Kamalondo (MHSRIP) “You will die with your degrees”
Simple you eat rice as your staple you are affected, there is a shortage of cereal in thw world for those that depend on Rice that is why Senegal. South Africa and Nigeria have been heavily affected, have you heard of any other african country that is affected by this superficial price increase????
#8, A BIG THANKS. You know when you are away for some time you tend to 4get even some of the common scenes on ground.
why the increase in food prices.i thout sugar rice maize all grows in zed.Saifwanda posa ko amano..
Food crises yes alot of reseach centers but lacking food why honestly guys to poseko amano scietists just lofing around with their doctrates.
look at this insecure cunt NO.1 i havent made my maiden comment on this blog but already he is attacking me. Guys we are missing the point here inflation is not high because of rising food prices but they are a contributory factor, however, due to a change in price of the worlds no.1 commodity (oil) there has been a knock on effect to other goods. this is why commercial banks have high interest rates so as to curb the quagmire arising from inflation, thats why u find govt spending less on public goods or services so as to normalise the situation,… i mean u guys here are educated enuff (including the dull No.1) but lets be reasonable these policies reflect future predictions
/cont…. some of u may ask but why this sort of reaction? well my junior or aged retainers the economic policies of government are favourable and this is the quintessential response that the treasury was seeking hence mutati giving his 2 cents
Rising food prices, rising cost of living is mainly due to the rising cost of crude oil. crude oil is now about $100 per barrel and continues to increase.
the most important factors contributing to the current rise in worldwide oil prices have been
(1) an increasing demand from expanding economies, mainly in China and India.
(2)On the other hand, supply has been artificially curtailed through the OPEC oil cartel.
Zambia has no control over the rising cost of fuel which affects our economy. its a relation cost of oil goes up, the cost of food and everything else goes up too. inflation rate starts to creep up.
so the question is what is the government doing to help families