The Zambia annual rate of inflation has reduced by 0.9 percentage points from 14.0 percent in February to 13.1 percent in March 2009.
Speaking in Lusaka today at the monthly CSO media briefing , Central Statistical Office (CSO) Director Elfreda Chulu said the reduction in the annual rate of inflation for the month of March due to the decline in the prices of food products.
Ms Chulu cited reductions in the prices of food products such as Kapenta, fish, fresh vegetables, alcoholic beverages, tubers, dried beans, cooking oil shelled groundnuts among others.
She added that the annual inflation rates reduced for furniture, households goods, recreation, education and other goods and services.
Meanwhile, she also disclosed that prices for non food products such as clothes, footwear, rent and households energy, transport, (air fares and cost of motor vehicles) and medical care services increased.
She explained that of the total 13.1 percent annual inflation rate of month of March food products accounted for 6.8 percent points, while non-food products in the consumer Price Index (CPI) accounted for total of 6.3 percentage points.
Ms Chulu also explained that this month’s annual food inflation rate has recorded a 13.9 percent drop from 16.3 percent in February 16.3 percent in February 2009.
She said the annual non-food inflation rate stood at 12.3 % in March 2009, up from 11.7 % in February 2009.
Ms Chulu explained that a comparison of retail prices between February and March 2009 shows that the national average price of 1 Kilogram (KG) of dried Kapenta reduced by 31.1 percent, from K37, 044 to K25, 3357, while that of average price of 1Kg tomatoes reduced by 11.3%, from K3.107 to K2, 756.
And the average national price of a 25 Kg bag of white breakfast meal increased by 5.9 from K53, 576 to K56, 751 while that of roller meal increased by 5.3 %, from K43, 832 to K46, 156.
ZANIS/MM/MKM/ENDS
I don’t think so, and i do not believe those stas becoz the dollar is way up there!
“Inflation is like sin; every government denounces it and every government practices it” It is taxation without legislation”
“Law of inflation: whatever goes up will go up some more” leabe these 0.9% inflation rates they are worthless !
“Inflation is when you pay 50,000 Kwacha for the 30,00 Kwacha haircut you used to get for 10,000 Kwacha when you had hair.”
Agreed. This is NOT statistically significant. Does not need a stats genius to work out. When inflation is in double digits this is nothing. They are not even ashamed to publish this as a ‘drop!’
we will just remain with english on our mouths as nathan has sung. surely in zimbabwe, things are getting cheaper by the day and yet we have not even suffered a tsunami the currency is wayward. who eats those cooked up stats? lets get real and not just be proud and free for nothing. zimbabwe is rising from its ashes and will by pass us and soon we will go back to the back bench where the zimboz have been
WHOSE STATISTICS DO YOU WANT TO BELIEVE? YOURS? ELFREDA CHULU WENT TO SCHOOL FOR STATISTICS. AND YOU DID NOT.
naikosa. lets just hope copper prices shoot higher hen the stats will be a reality
What a joke. I fail to comment.
Aya ma % niyanu…nizingati KWACHA mu DOLLAR?
Stripper,how are yu?forget about these figures,they’re text book materials,the situ on the ground is the same.only good thing is if i send a few dollars to my family,they go home from western union smiling becose chi kwacha nachi pena running into 6pin,kaya.
Yezyani ino, on the opposite side, my sister sent me 400 dollars yesterday and she spent 2.5 million kwacha to buy that dollar…imagine?
boza!!!!
It is hard to understand how tomato and kapenta prices have reduced while the mealie meal ones have increased serious.
Also, “Ms Chulu also explained that this month’s annual food inflation rate has recorded a 13.9 percent drop from 16.3 percent in February 16.3 percent in February 2009” does not make sens and please LT do something about this error.
The increase in airtravel and landtravel fares is another concern. What is the cause of this? Is it the closure of operations by Zambian Airways? Or some sort of increase in fuel prices? I need to kow the reasons for all these issues, please.
this seems to be a damn question…but can someone educate me….isn’t kapenta a kind of fish?
It is very much a kind of fish.
Stripper you have forgotten Kapenta sure? What do you eat over there. Mac fimo fimo LOL
It is a very tastey small fish, a delicacy indeed. Eaten fresh or dried, and part of family with chisense.. .. You have made me miss Kapenta now….
What caused reductions in prices of kapenta, cooking oil, alcohol etc. And why have mealie meal prices still gone up. Can someone please tell us.
its drama at its best pa zed.when sisala hikes zescolo,what will happen to inflation?
They will still say that inflation has dropped…just wait and c!!
There is nothing wrong with these figures. After all the stuff whose prices have gone down are locally produced. Bear in mind that we are now in a season of plenty as far as local agricultural produce is concerned. Hence the tumbling of food prices. On the hand all goods and services that have a dollar component have short up due to the weakening of the Kwacha against the dollar. Honestly this is simple economics and no need to bust an artery!
You are talking of bursting an artey , when others are bursting their brains.. lol…
The brain my dear can not bust. It is a blood vessel that can bust and in the process damage the brain.
Ba Jam@co, I know and very much remember kapenta..infact it’s one of my favorite delicacies. The reason i asked the question was because LT story lists Kapenta and Fish differently as some of the commodities whose prices have gone down.