ZamStats
March 30, 2023
Overall Monthly Inflation Rate at 1.0 Percent
The overall monthly inflation for March 2023 was recorded at 1.0 percent compared with 1.9 percent in the previous month. This outturn was mainly attributed to price decreases in selected food and non-food items (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Overall Monthly Inflation, March 2022-March 2023
Monthly Inflation Rates for Food and Non-Food Items
Monthly food inflation for March 2023 was recorded at 1.1 percent compared with 2.0 percent in February 2023. This development was mainly attributed to general price movements for Cereals (Breakfast Mealie Meal, Roller Mealie Meal); Fish (Fresh Kapenta, Dried Kapenta Siavonga and Chisense); Fruits (Lemons, Apples, Pawpaw, Groundnuts); Vegetables (Mushrooms, Pumpkin Leaves, Sweet Potatoes Leaves, Green Beans, Cabbage, Chikanda Tubers).
Monthly non-food inflation for March 2023 was recorded at 0.9 percent compared with 1.9 percent in February 2023. This outturn was mainly attributed to decreases in prices of items such as  Bed and Mattress, Carpet, Spark plugs, Charcoal, Car Tyre-Radial, Engine oil (see Table 10).
Table 10: Overall Monthly Inflation Rate for Food and Non-Food Items, Mar 2022-Mar 2023 (%)
| Â | Weight:Â | Mar-
2022Â |
Apr-
2022Â |
May-
2022Â |
June-
2022Â |
July-
2022Â |
Aug-
2022Â |
Sep-
2022Â |
Oct-
2022Â |
Nov-
2022Â |
Dec-
2022Â |
Jan –
2023Â |
Feb –
2023Â |
Mar –
2023Â |
| Total | 1,000.00 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Food | 534.85 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | -0.2 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Non-
Food |
465.15 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | -0.6 | -0.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
Source: ZamStats, 2023
District Prices for Selected Products, March 2023
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 11.
Table 11: District Prices for Selected Products, March 2023
| Product Description | Unit of Measure | Price (K) | Minimum | Price (K) | Maximum |
| Location | Location | ||||
| Breakfast Mealie Meal | 25 kg | 150.00 | Kitwe | 250.00 | Mporokoso |
| Roller Mealie Meal | 25 kg | 125.00 | Chipata | 210.00 | Chilubi |
| Maize Grain | 20 litre tin | 52.00 | Kasempa | 160.00 | Mbala |
| Cooking Oil | 2.5 Litres | 100.00 | Kitwe | 185.00 | Shangombo |
| Eggs | Tray | 45.00 | Chongwe | 90.00 | Serenje |
| Sugar | 2 Kg | 39.50 | Kitwe | 55.00 | Chingola |
| Charcoal | 50 kg bag | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 45.00 | Â Zambezi | 300.00 | Lusaka |
| Cement | 50 kg | 115.00 | Luanshya | 165.00 | Â Kaputa |
Source: ZamStats, 2023
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