Zambia’s annual inflation rate for November 2025 has slowed to 10.9 percent, down from 11.9 percent in October.
Meanwhile, the country recorded a strong rise in international trade activities in October 2025, marking significant shifts across both consumer prices and external trade.
The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats), Acting Statistician General, Sheila Mudenda, says the annual inflation softened due to price reductions in several non-food items, including fuel such as petrol and diesel, domestic and regional airfares, vehicle purchases and paraffin.
Ms Mudenda said this in Lusaka today at the monthly economic updates where she released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the International Merchandise Trade figures that provide a snapshot of national price movements and trade performance.
She said food inflation slightly decreased to 13.9 percent from 14.1 percent in October, driven by lower prices in cereals such as breakfast and roller mealie meal, maize grain, samp and wheat flour, fruits and vegetables.
Ms Mudenda however noted that monthly inflation rose to 0.7 percent, up from 0.4 percent in October 2025 due to price increases in meat, fish, dried beans and Irish potatoes.
She also explained that monthly non-food inflation edged up to 0.6 percent, influenced by higher prices of imported spirits, garments, accommodation services, suitcases and umbrellas.
Ms Mudenda said provincial rates show mixed trends with Western Province recording the highest annual inflation at 15.5 percent, while Luapula posted the lowest at 7.6 percent in the month of November 2025.
However, inflation declined in Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Northern, Southern and Western provinces, but rose in Lusaka to 12.8 percent and in North-Western Province to 13.8 percent in this month.
Meanwhile, Ms Mudenda said there was strong performance in external trade as the total trade for October 2025 increased by 6.6 percent, rising to K60.4 billion from K56.7 billion recorded in September.
She said Zambia posted a trade surplus of K1.1 billion, up from K0.4 billion in September.
“Cumulatively, total trade rose by 17.6 percent, from K468.4 billion in 2024 to K550.7 billion in October 2025,” she explained.
She further disclosed that non-traditional exports (NTEs) however, decreased by 3.6 percent, falling from K9.4 billion to K9.1 billion.
The gold export earnings for October 2025 stood at K351.2 million, accounting for 3.9 percent of NTEs, up slightly from 3.7 percent in September while copper prices on the London Metal Exchange rose by 7.5 percent, increasing from US$9,950 in September to US$10,700 in October.
Refined copper export volumes increased by 10.1 percent, rising from 642,500 metric tons in 2024 to 707,500 metric tons in 2025 while agricultural and non-agricultural exports increased by 2.8 percent, from K2.3 billion to K2.4 billion, driven mainly by tobacco and maize seed exports.
