The inflation rate for May has increased slightly by zero point one percent.
The country’s inflation rate now stands at 8.9 percent, from 8.8 percent in April.
CSO Acting Director, John Kalumbi attributed the marginal rise in inflation to increase in some food prices such as cabbage, Kapenta and tomatoes.
He however told journalists at a monthly briefing in Lusaka on Thursday that prices for both breakfast and roller meal reduced by about one thousand Kwacha.
Mr Kalumbi also says the country expects to record a maize surplus of slightly over 1.6 million tonnes this season.
He says Zambia’s total maize available this season is 3.8 million tonnes while the national requirement stands at 2.2 million tonnes.
And Mr Kalumbi announced that Zambia also recorded a trade surplus of one point one trillion Kwacha for April 2011.
Zambia has been recording trade surpluses since January while inflation has remained below ten percent since May last year.
ZNBC
If only it had gone up to over 10%, then PF kaponyas would have welcomed the news and all of a sudden they would attach the utmost importance on these figures.
Why cant he also tell us why the inflation has increased if everything points to the positive.
The margin is too small (0.2). Any educated person would know this could simply be accounted for by observational errors….no specific reason needed, as there is no statistically significant change.
The problem is that the govt is promoting a mono-crop agricutural system. You should have noted that when DR Kazonga the Agriculture Minister announced the so called Maize bumper harvest the harvest estimates for other crops like Soya beans and Rice had gone down. We need to support all crops because you cant just eat maize. If vegetables can have an influence on inflation why for God’s dont we allow farmers to bring in Green housees duty free so that vegetables can be grown the whole year round rather than in winter only!