Zambia’s headline consumer inflation slowed to 8.8 percent year-on-year in April, a rare example of easing price pressures in Africa caused in part by a drop in the cost of basic food. Inflation in the southern African country was at 9.2 percent in March.
“The reduction is attributed to decreases in food and non-food prices,” the Central Statistics Office said on today. The government last month told the state-run Food Reserve Agency to cut maize prices by 20 percent to bring down the cost of the staple. Zambia had a bumper maize harvest in the last season, producing 2.8 million tonnes and exporting a surplus of 1.1 million tonnes.
“If we can stabilise food inflation we should be able to reach the end-of-year target. We are likely to have another bumper maize harvest and this should stabilise food price,” said Oliver Saasa, an economist at Mulungushi University.
The central bank has said inflation should end the year at 8 percent.
The CSO also said the trade account recorded a surplus 862.3 billion kwacha in March from 645.2 billion in February.
In contrast to Zambia, inflation is picking up in many African countries due to the sharply escalating cost of food and energy. In Kenya, it leapt to 9.19 percent in March from 6.54 percent the previous month, while Uganda’s CPI jumped to 11.9 percent from 6.4 percent over the same period.
South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, inflation stands at a relatively tame 4.1 percent but economists expect that to pick up to an average of 4.11 percent for the whole of the year.
Reuters
Good news. Now we await ignorant comments of “these are just numbers…blah blah blah”.
1, 2, 3 Go….
B
M&M to set up plants in African countries
Thursday April 28, 2011 00:27:19 EDT
MUMBAI, Apr 27, 2011 (The Economic Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX News Network) —
The world’s largest tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra plans to set up assembly plants in Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia, boosting its manufacturing prowess to ramp up presence in the fast-growing African economy.
The auto major, which already has satellite plants in Gambia, Tchad, Mali, Ghana & Nigeria for farm equipment, will use its facilities to assemble three-wheelers, light commercial vehicles and utility vehicle Bolero to drive volumes in an economy marked by rising disposable incomes.
“Africa is an opportunistic market. We are following the bottom of…
Oliver Saasa, Zambia suffers from poverty disease. Food is always abundant according to season. If only RB could concentrate on alleviating poverty and work on reducing those levels…
Shut up, and be real.
PF cadres this is Reuters, Its not ZNBC or times! Do you think Mr Sata can hold his bladder sphincter like this?
Inflation in Uganda and Kenya is being driven largely by increases in the price of petroleum products and (especially in the case of Kenya) partly food price inflation. For Zambia the bumper harvest and the adminstered maize price has provided a form of cushion to food inflation but a major unknown lingering out there is the effect on petroleum product prices when the current cargo i.e. feedstock delivered at Dar es Salaam (based on prices of about four months ago) runs out and we have to pay for that procured at the prevailing high prices…..I wait with baited breath…!!
this is good for zambia. the economy seems to be resilient. lets all continue working hard for mother zambia. those in agriculture should be encouraged to do more as the future of zambia is dependent on this sector considering copper as a diminishing resource.
Bravo Zambia, Let the illiterate PF Kaponyas continue saying their usual rubbish while we match forward with good economic policies that are bearing fruit
Keep working for the good of us all Mr President. I am just wondering why our bank interest rates are still above 18% when inflation has been in the single didgit for the past one year.
Michael Chilufya Sata must be heart broken.
While it is possible to deal with domestic triggers of inflation, there is little anyone can do about “imported inflation” except to ensure that the Kwacha remains stable and interest rates are brought down to boost production. Commercial lending rates of 18% are very high and discourage investment causing Zambians in the diaspora to only send remitances to buy food for their relatives and not commit to largescale spending.
I’m not trying to get anyone
upset and this is not a bash about some of you Men I respect on here especially Chale and Bootlicker but I just want 2 know why Zambian men are such bad
fathers? I’m not saying ALL
Zambian men are bad fathers,
but most of them are dead-
beats. I feel so sad for our
little black children that have
to grow up without a father.
I see Madonna adopting and many celebrities , and when last in zambia I saw
fatherless children all the
time and it really saddens
me. These children look so
sad when I have to question
them about their fathers.
As a black person although i feel white it makes
me upset to see so many
heartbroken children. Why have them if you cant afford them If you have more than 2 children I think you are just as guilty. Thanks
I spoke to a friend from Jamaica here and she agreed with me
Most black men here in the UK don’t even stick around long enough to be a dad…whether they’d be good or bad at it, you’ll never know. They run for the hills as soon as someone points the finger at them and deems them responsible for anything. They also believe that all ties with their kids don’t exist anymore if they happen to break up with the mother.
Having a child with the vast majority of black men just isn’t a very good idea…unless you’re prepared to be a single parent,. Most cheat. I’m not bitter, I just don’t understand why black women hang on to no good men. i think its their fear of being lonely, or thinking they can’t do better. Thanks
Great news and this will be the shortest thread as all Kaponyas are camping on tribalists and insults  threads. Everything articulated here is great to them.
And the Trade surplus continuous to power forward and some people have even the audacity to call Zambia a failed state. Which free education did you get, that twisted your thinking like that. Looks at these stunning numbers.
We told you we have three brilliant economists in charge of critical sectors of this ship  and the best is yet to come
Am sure the usual  DULL ZAMBIANS on this blog will not comment on this article….TOO complicated to understand.
This is good. I expected the usual Kaponya analysis….’.how come we can’t see any change on the ground’ ….I am sure they can see some stability in prices and besides, any Government ..Sata’s included, will rely on such economic parameters to plan and measure economic perfomance. If you are a lazy mwamwazi, it might take you a little bit more time to realise these benefits.
@ Mushota….you are black, and you feel white? People differ anyway, but I don’t understand your statement or I have probably misunderstood you but I have this to say…you are what you are…and home is home. From my experience in Europe (Did my masters in Germany and travelled widely in Europe) I have come to appreciate Zambia, it is PARADISE believe me. Zambia may lack that kind of infrastructure, but it more than makes it up in so many other ways..social and family bonding and values etc, climate, and mind you happines is relative. There is no need to feel white, when you are one of us..previlages can’t change what we are. Europe, America can be rough…..you know what I mean. In most cases, we are just second class citizens and economic refugees in their eyes.
Right, thanks for the advise. Thanks
ZAMBIA’S INFLATION SLOWS TO 8.8%…….SO WHAT, POVERTY IN RURAL AREAS STILL STAND AT 80%, THERE ARE NO JOBS, CHILUBA IS STILL FREE, AND BWEZI IS STILL PRESIDENT, SHIKAPWASHA IS STILL A VUNVUNZELA, AND GEORGE KUNDA IS STILL NURSING HIS LIPS….SO WHAT GOOD IS 8.8%……IT’S JUST GOOD FOR THE GUYS AT CENTRAL STATISTICS OFFICE TO FILE AWAY……WHAT WE WANT IS SATA IN STATE HOUSE FULL STOP
No.17 i knew some DULL ZAMBIAN who does not understand the implication of inflation witll write NOSENSE…. did the British not pump some sense in between your ears?Â
@17….Donchi what ever,….. Kunda’s lips, Titus and the rest you have mentioned has nothing to do with inflation. Satan will have to deal with these figures if he gets into state house. From the look of things, Sata in state house is the begining and the end. Forget about Sata for a while, talk economic indicators for now.
I do not understand why, as a country, we remain fixated on the inflation rate. I have never heard statistics on employment creation, which I believe is more indicative of the the general economic performance. When was the last time we were informed about the number of jobs created by the economy? CSO needs to pull up its socks and give the country more meaningful information. I am not saying that they stop publishing inflation stats, but that they also focus on the employment statistics as these give a better view of were we are headed as a nation
I thought I should say something for my brothers and sisters in the diaspora like Mushota. I honestly hope you are investing your hard earned dollar or pound back home. At some point you will need to return, when your body can’t take it anymore, due to old age or sickness you may not access social security benefits if you are still an illegal. If you have the papers, I doubt if you will like the homes for the old. I personally saw how teriffied these whites get when they are growing old and have not financially secured themselves. You may return back to Kabwata and Chilenge and we would have moved to the farms. Head my advise…and those studying….well done, but come back home and change things.
Lassa #21 the trouble is , in Zambia life expectancy is so low, and scaryMy fiance and me means we wont live beyond 40 years I dont want that I am 27 now.There ignorance and illiteracy among the population with poor health care system and accessibility to health care facilities.
poor hygiene and inadequate food supply among the people leads to malnutrition and spreads of diseases.
lack of advance technology and accessibility leads to delay of medical treatment.
thus the life expectancy is low and one is better off staying here. Thanks though about investment ideas. The life expectancy of Africans has dropped by 15 years within the past two decades because of the spread of Aids, together with the effect of continuing wars and poverty. Thanks
Lassa #21 the trouble is , in Zambia life expectancy is so low, and scaryMy fiance and me means we wont live beyond 40 years I dont want that I am 27 now.There ignorance and illiteracy among the population with poor health care system and accessibility to health care facilities.
poor hygiene and inadequate food supply among the people leads to malnutrition and spreads of diseases.
lack of advance technology and accessibility leads to delay of medical treatment.
thus the life expectancy is low and one is better off staying here. Thanks though about investment ideas. The life expectancy of Africans has dropped by 15 years within the past two decades because of the spread of Aids, together with the effect of continuing wars and poverty. Thanks.
Lasa lasa # 21, walasa. On the subject, I do hope that additional to inflationary rates and the psychologically safe feel of single-digit inflation territory, we must try to see how that articulates with improving the lot of our economy. Like #20 says, it is not usual to hear about job creation or even about how FDI, etc. are contributing to the socio-economic lot of our people. In Namibia, a programme was mooted to try and address the unemployment situation (estimated at just over 50%) and the result was an announcement and financial commitment to create a number of jobs (104,000, I think) in the interim for the next few years. We need to be addressing and stemming what might turn out to be a Tahrir square nightmare long after the plunderers and mismanagers have long gone!!
Dear MUSHOTA, YOU ARE IN DREAM LAND.ZAMBIA IS NOW A PARANDISE .WE ARE VERY HAPPY AND AT PEACE.PLEASE DON”T FORGET THE SUNAMIS AND THE LIKES THERE.YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY CAN BE SWALLOWED WITHIN A BLINK OF AN EYE.
8.8% is this a year to date index? i thought last year inflation year to date was at 7.6% percent if am not wrong, how then has it dropped? is this a poitical campaign statement or mare hallucinating by that ex colleague of mine at central statistics
Mushota should be a very funny person. When people are analysing this she takes a different route altogether. Is she/he sane or what. She diverts the thinking too much. Anyway we expect such madness from her/he by now. Thanks Mushota for being d.ull; you are great!
No25 do you understand what Year on Year means? Ichisungu…. am sure u are from Mufulira
Those 8% dont make sense to voters majority. Prove by 10pin buyin 3 liters fuel. Then will say YES.
Mushota, your posts are amusing but I wont judge you… Zambia’s life expectancy at birth is 52 years. It means a child born today is expected to live up to 52 years (CSO figure). On the contrary, the life expectancy in Zambia has improved over the years. Since you prefer quoting non-CSO figures, check the MDG indicators on Zambia on a non-Zambian website or UN organisational website and you will see that such variables as martenal and child mortality have gone down…
no. 25 MMD DECAMPAGIN2011 …what are you on about? This is year on year, not YTD. Is moving from 7.6% to 8.8% a DROP in inflation? WTF!
8.8% inflation rate CHECK
fuel very still. Â Â Â Â CHECK
Fuel still being imported from the middle East CHECK
Some black people still inferior in mind. Â Â Â Â CHECK
Aspects of the economy actually doing well. Â CHECK
Mushota jealous that cutey of Australia is hotter than her PRICELESS !!!!!!
Angola and Uganda produce oil, why have we not dug vimuganda to these countries and pay 500 kwacha a gallon for gas? Â Do you know how far the emirates are from Zambia; which is made longer for ships because of the risk those brothers of ours that took captain jack sparrow literally and became pirates of Mogadishu Awe mwe! This is good 8.8 % inflation rate for big businesses and those witheasy acces to capital finance.
Dear Mushota, I am currently at home after my studies, and experiencing life abroad. I agree with you about the malaise that may still exist at home, but all the same, Zambia has made huge strides in the past 10 years or so. If a fruit does not fall when it is ripe, it will surely fall when it is wrotten. All I am saying is staying in London or what ever does not change who we are. I have a number of friends and relatives abroad who can’t even afford to come home to morn their loved ones. Those that have visited recently are so amazed how things are moving fast and some are taking advantage of their strong currency abroad to invest and live a life they can’t live anywhere in Europe. You and I can change things for mother Zambia.
The maize was bought at a high price with borrowed money and now sold even outside the country at a lower price. Zambians do not be blinded, your children or grands will have to pay for this or will start another cry for your debts to be cancelled. Who will hear you when given this scenario. This is cheap campain material. Zambians don’t sleep workup.This is more or less like eating the seed as a parent and you you don’t leave any thing for your children. Let us learn to sucrifice for our future generation now.
# 18 – THE ENGINEER (AUSTRALIA)…..THE BRITISH PUMPED ALOT OF SENSE IN OUR HEADS, THAT’S WHY WE ARE ABLE TO SEE THE LIES IN THESE COOKED UP FIGURES LIKE 8.8%……BY THE WAY IF YOU ARE IN DIASPORA, WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY FROM YOUR COUNTRY TO GO AND BECOME AN ECONOMIC REFUGEE IN AUSTRALIA? OR ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO ACCOMPANIED THE RETURNING MUZUNGUS AFTER PROVING TO BE A GOOD KABOYI HERE AT HOME……I CHALLENGE YOU TO COME BACK HOME SO THAT YOU CAN COME AND EXPLAIN WHAT 8.8% MEANS TO YOUR SHIKULU IN SHANGOMBO……
When the unemployment rate is 8.8 % then I will get all exited.that inflation rate is of little use to the guy on the street.The price of food is goin up,the cost of transport is goin up.Zesco increased their tarriffs.so did the water utilities.must be the bumper harvest cause I dont know how else inflation could hav gone down.
musho mushota mushota # 11,12 i don’t even know where you took that name coz to family we have mushotas like mum but dont think and percive things like you are doing here. watusebanya nkashandi. we are in europe but we cant say we are or feel europeans never that can not happen. psychologically you are not educted my sister learn to lower yourself you be respected.mmmmmmehehemmmeme…black men black men!! it hates a lot.apo upepelele you dont yourself? you think to be white is to be in heaven or is to be wise? zambia is a very nice country many people dream to visit. ba kamushi eba yumfwa ifyo uleyumfwa….wen i vitsted town or wen i visted zambia!!! then wat for? am so disapointed with your coment
No.35 i operate my own two campanies in Australia. Zambia is too small a playing field. Besides the skills levels are too low, besides being full of DULL people like you who can not understand inflation and how its calculated… thanks for your offer i will not return
in the pf government we will shut down cso, boz, zra, ministries of finance, commerce, agriculture & all other organisations which confuse our president including reuters. All these will be fused into one, the Post and it will import fuel too.