Browsing: Food Inflation

• Inflation in Tanzania has gone down to 3%, lower than Kenya’s 4.3% and Uganda’s 4% posted in July.
• While economic experts commend the country’s monetary policy for managing inflation, economic woes facing the poor persist.
• Policymakers in Tanzania project to control inflation within the National Vision 2020-2025 target of 3.3 to 4.4%.

Inflation in Tanzania has inched slightly lower to 3.0 percent, compared to 3.1 which was recorded in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported.  The NBS attributes this reduction to the country’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in controlling inflation.

“What lower inflation means is that the cost of living has reduced…the price of goods and services have gone. The current efforts have ensured inflation remains within acceptable limits,” Central Bank’s Directorate of Research and Policy, Mr. Marwa Patrick commended the MPC as strategic and successful. 

“This achievement reflects meticulous fiscal and monetary policies and …

• Tanzania inflation hits five year high
• Zanzibar bans export of food commodoties ahead of Holy Month
• China reopens market, expected to speed global recovery

Tanzania’s annual inflation rate has hit its highest point in five years clocking 4.9% in January 2023 and at the close of February the rate was no better.

According to the Tanzania Central Bank The Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the prices of food & non-alcoholic beverages went up by 9.9% up from 9.7% in December of last year.

The BoT monthly economic update report showed similar increase in prices across all sectors and indicator that the cost of living in Tanzania has increased drastically. Wit no matching increase in income, this means that the burden of acquiring daily basic needs like food has become worse for Tanzanians.

With percentages in the brackets here are how several sectors are suffering from price increase in Tanzania: Transportation (6.2% …

• The increased credit to the private sector is associated with positive growth-focused policies.
• The data shows that there was robust private credit growth except for the tourism industry which is still coming out of the post-pandemic period.  
• Overall lending rates dropped slightly from 16.8 percent in August 2021 to 16.1 percent in August last year. 

Tanzania is pushing for private sector growth evident in increased credit to the private sector, according to the World Bank.

In the most recent World Bank report on Tanzania’s Economic Update, the growth rate of credit to the private sector increased from 3.2 percent in August 2021 to 20.7 percent in August 2022 and is expected to grow further this year.

The increased credit to the private sector is associated with positive growth-focused policies designed to support private sector recovery in a post-pandemic and slowing global global growth environment.

The development comes as the country …

Kenya’s inflation is expected to remain well anchored within the target range, against the backdrop of COVID-19 shock and its spillover to the economy.

This is according to a new report by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) which has reveals that a hike in food and fuel prices has been impacting the rate of inflation.

In July for instance, year on year inflation rate, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 6.44 percent, in July 2021.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics attributed the rise in inflation increase in prices of commodities especially food and transport.

“Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices increased by 8.84 percent, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose by 6.03 percent,” KNBS noted.

Transport was however the commodity with the biggest hike, after prices shot up by 10.33 percent between July 2020 and July 2021.

The CPI increased by 0.20 …

Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, has seen its inflation quickened to nearly two years high in January as food shortages caused by border closures continued to drive up the price of staples, the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics revealed.

According to information from Bloomberg, the statistician report revealed that: consumer price rose to 12.1 per cent from a year earlier, compared with 12 per cent in December, which marks the fifth month of increases.

However, there were several crucial aspects in relation to the scenario, as revealed by Bloomberg.

It was highlighted that the nation’s monetary policy committee’s ability to raise interest rates to contain inflation is hampered by slow economic growth.

In January a Nigerian economist and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele raised the number of money banks to need to deposit at zero interest with the central bank to clear up …

Uganda food inflation declines in spite of a failed harvest from the 2019 first crop season.

Uganda has maintained a relatively low food inflation rate at 1.9 per cent from the 2018 bumper harvest.
Since June 2018, the country has experienced a great harvest of maize, beans, sorghum rice; cassava, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes that which has kept the prices of all staple foods low meaning households were able to meet their food needs.

Opolot Okaasai, a crop resource expert and former director at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries said that 2018 was good since the first rains came on time across the country and floods came after the crops had been harvested.

This year however started on a difficult note for the country. Although the first quarter was affected by the two tropical cyclones that hit Mozambique and disrupted the country’s rain pattern despite it …