Overall Monthly Inflation Rate Increased to 0.8 Percent

The overall monthly inflation for December 2022 was recorded at 0.8 percent compared with 0.7 percent the previous month. This outturn was mainly attributed to price increases in non-food items (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Overall Monthly Inflation, Dec 2021-Dec 2022 (%)

Monthly Inflation Rates for Food and Non-Food Items, December 2021-December 2022

Monthly food inflation for December 2022 was 0.5 percent, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from 0.9 percent in November 2022. This development was mainly attributed to general price Movements for Meats (Brisket, Offal’s, Pork Chops, Goat Meat, Chicken Live, Frozen chicken, Tinned Meat); Milk products (Fresh Milk, Powdered milk, yoghurt) and Vegetables (Sweet Potato Leaves-Kalembula, Cassava Leaves, Okra, Green Beans, Eggplant, Impwa, Maize cobs, Onion, Mushroom).

Monthly non-food inflation for December 2022 was recorded at 1.1 percent from 0.5 percent in November 2022 (see Table 8). This outturn was mainly attributed to price increases for Fuels & lubricants (Diesel, Petrol); Purchase of Motor cars (Toyota Hilux, Toyota corolla, Nissan ALMERA 1.5, Nissan Hardbody).

Table 8: Overall Monthly Inflation Rate for Food and Non-Food Items, Dec 2021-Dec 2022 (%)

	Weight:	Dec- 2021	Jan- 2022	Feb- 2022	Mar- 2022	Apr- 2022	May- 2022	June- 2022	July- 2022	Aug- 2022	Sep- 2022	Oct- 2022	Nov- 2022	Dec- 2022
Total	1,000.00	0.6	2.6	1.7	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.4	0.3	-0.4	0.2	0.7	1.1
Food	534.85	0.7	3.1	1.9	0.9	1.1	0.9	1.2	0.3	0.4	-0.2	0.4	0.9	0.5
Non- Food	465.15	0.5	1.9	1.5	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.1	-0.6	-0.2	0.5	1.1

District Prices for Selected Products, December 2022

The Consumer Price Basket consists of 440 items which are spread across selected outlets in all the 116 districts of Zambia. Over 23,000 price quotations are collected from these outlets between the 1st and 10th of every month. The minimum and maximum prices for selected products by district are highlighted in Table 9.

Table 9: District Prices for Selected Products, December 2022

Product Description	Unit of Measure	Price (K)	Minimum	Price (K)	Maximum
Product Description	Unit of Measure	Price (K)	Location	Price (K)	Location
Breakfast Mealie Meal	25 kg	140.00	Katete	220.00	Mafinga
Roller Mealie Meal	25 kg	110.00	Lusaka	180.00	Mwinilunga, Lukulu
Maize Grain	20 litre tin	55.00	Chingola	160.00	Mongu
Cooking Oil	2.5 Litres	92.00	Kitwe	170.00	Chilubi
Eggs	Tray	40.00	Lusaka	106.00	Serenje
Sugar	2 Kg	40.00	Kitwe, Lukulu, Isoka	55.00	Ndola, Chingola, Mporokoso
Charcoal	50 kg bag	55.00	Kazungula	230.00	Lusaka
Cement	50 kg	117.00	Lusaka	165.00	Kaputa, Lukulu, Sesheke