By Annelie Coleman, Farmers Weekly, The World Bank insisted that Zimbabwe’s Consumer Price Index eased by nearly 92% year-on-year in February 2023, down from the 229% y/y increase in January, and moving further away from the 18-month high of 285% registered in August 2022.
Inflation has been on a downward trend since September 2022, and reached its lowest since March last year.
In its latest report, the World Bank ranked Zimbabwe ahead of Venezuela, while Lebanon was in third place. The development came after a spike in the prices of basic foodstuffs and other commodities in Zimbabwe. In 2022, Zimbabwe ranked second only to Lebanon, but it has since overtaken the Middle Eastern country.
According to a Trading Economics report, the most important categories in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) food basket included food and non-alcoholic beverages at 31%, housing and utilities at 28%, and transport at 8%. Miscellaneous goods and services accounted for 7%, while household furniture, equipment and maintenance accounted for 5%, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco for another 5%.
Food price pressures were ascribed to, among other factors, the pricing of most food items in Zimbabwe in US dollars, while the majority of the workforce’s earnings were in the local currency.
