Year-on-Year Inflation for February 2023 at 9.6 Percent

Annual inflation for February 2023 increased to 9.6 percent from 9.4 percent recorded in January, 2022. This means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 9.6 percent between February 2022 and February 2023 (see Figure 1). This development was mainly attributed to an increase in prices of selected non-food items.

Figure 1: Annual Inflation Rate, Feb 2022-Feb 2023 (%)

Annual Food and Non-Food Inflation

Annual food inflation for February 2023 remained the same at 11.6 percent (see Figure 2). This development was mainly attributed to Cereals (Breakfast Mealie Meal, Roller Mealie Meal, Maize grain, Rice local); Fish (Buka, Fresh Kapenta, Dried Bream-Medium Sized-Opened, Dried Kapenta Mpulungu, Dried Kapenta Siavonga) Vegetables (rape, Tomatoes, Cabbage, Sweet potatoes).

The annual non-food inflation for February 2023 increased to 6.9 percent from 6.5 percent in January 2023. This outturn was mainly attributed to increases in prices of non-food items such as Fuels & lubricants (Diesel, Petrol, Lubricants) and charcoal.