Annual inflation rate jumps to 7.2% in March
The annual inflation rate increased to 7.2% in March 2023 compared to 4.5% recorded in March 2022, according to Namibia’s Statistics Agency (NSA) consumer price index (NCPI) bulletin released this week.
According to the bulletin, the main contributors to the annual inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.7 percentage points); transport (1.4 percentages points), alcoholic beverages & tobacco (0.9 percentage points), housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (0.8 percentage points); miscellaneous goods and services.
Monthly, the inflation rate increased by 0.6% compared to 0.4% recorded a month earlier, the NPCI bulletin noted.
Meanwhile, according to the NSA data, analysis of the average retail prices of selected products for March 2023 shows that consumers in Zone 2 (Khomas) paid the highest price for Pure sunflower oil (750 ml) at N$37.41 followed by Zone 3 (Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, Omaheke) at N$36.81, while consumers in Zone 1(Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi) paid the lowest price of N$36.05.
For Stewing beef, consumers in Zone 1 paid the lowest price at N$89.99/Kg, while the highest price was recorded in Zone 3 at N$94.57/Kg. For Eggs (pack of 6), consumers in Zone 1 paid the lowest price at N$21.15, while the highest was paid by Zone 2 consumers at N$23.04.
In a nutshell, the Zonal inflation rates for March 2023 revealed that Zone 1 recorded the highest annual
the inflation rate of 7.7%, followed by Zone 3 recording an annual inflation rate of 7.2% while Zone 2 recorded the lowest annual inflation rate of 6.6%.
