Cso February 2009 Cpi Press Release

Press Release Central Statistical Office

Republic of Zambia

P.O. Box 31908, Lusaka

For immediate Release Thursday, February 26, 2009 Information Enquiries

Tel: +260-1-253468 Tel/Fax: +260-1-253468/253609 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.zamstats.gov.zm

Consumer Price Index (CPI) – February 2009 The Central Statistical Office (CSO) through its monthly survey on consumer prices today announced that the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI), reduced by 2.0 percentage points from 16.0 percent in January 2009 to 14.0 percent in February 2009. The decline in the annual inflation rate in February 2009 was mainly attributed to reductions in the prices of mealie meal, fresh vegetables, fish and kapenta. Annual Inflation Rate February 2008- February 2009

(Percentage)

20 15 10 5 0 Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug Composite

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Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Contributions of the different Items to overall Inflation Of the total 14.0 percent annual inflation in February 2009, food products accounted for 8.0 percentage points, while non-food products in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) accounted for a total of 6.0 percentage points. Percentage Points Contributions of different Items to overall inflation January 2009 February 2009 10.3 8.0 0.3 0.4 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.9 0.1 0.1 1.5 1.6 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.4 16.0 14.0

Item Food, Beverages and Tobacco Clothing and Footwear Rent and household energy Furniture and Household Goods Medical Care Transport (fuel, air fares, new motor vehicles) Recreation and Education Other Goods and Services All Items

The annual food inflation rate The annual food inflation rate was recorded at 16.3 percent in February 2009. This is a reduction from 21.3 of the food inflation rate recorded in January 2009. Contributing most to the decline in food inflation were reductions in the cost of mealie meal, fish, kapenta and fresh vegetables. Partially offsetting these reductions were increases in the cost of other cereals and cereal products, meat, eggs, dried beans, shelled groundnuts, sugar, tea , coffee and other processed food products. The annual non-food inflation rate The annual non-food inflation rate stood at 11.7 percent in February 2009, up from 11.1 percent in January 2008. Regarding disaggregated groups, the annual inflation rates reduced for rent and household energy, recreation and education. However, the annual inflation rate increased for clothing and footwear; furniture and household goods; medical care; transport (cost of motor vehicles); and other goods and services. Retail prices of selected items A comparison of retail prices between January and February 2009, shows that the national average price of a 25 kg bag of white roller meal reduced by 10.8 percent, from K49,118 to K43,832, while the price of a 25kg bag of breakfast meal reduced by 9.7 percent, from K59,311 to K53,576. However, the national average price of a 20 litre tin of maize grain increased by 2.7 percent, from K28,185 to K28,935.The national average price of 1kg of dried kapenta (Mpulungu) reduced by 3.1 percent, while the national average price of 1kg of rape reduced by 11.4 percent.

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TABLE 1: Index Numbers of Consumer Prices by Food and Non-Food Items (1994 WEIGHTS)

Period

Weight 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2005 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2006 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2007 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2008 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2009 January February

Total

1000 4.3 8.6 22.8 64.7 100.0 134.9 193.0 240.2 298.9 379.0 477.7 579.9 708.8 959.4 970.3 984.8 987.9 994.4 1002.0 1008.2 1017.9 1030.3 1051.5 1075.3 1099.0 1134.3 1151.6 1156.1 1171.5 1184.7 1194.8 1196.6 1214.4 1231.2 1244.1 1260.6 1273.2 1272.3 1270.0 1279.6 1281.6 1286.8 1296.8 1300.2 1311.1 1332.6 1341.8 1362.2 1378.1 1397.5 1430.1 1441.9 1441.0 1438.0 1441.0 1445.8 1450.9 1457.1 1462.0 1481.2 1501.2 1527.9 1566.4 1582.7 1587.2 1594.1 1615.3 1628.7 1643.0 1664.2 1684.1 1708.3 1749.8 1773.0 1785.0

571 4.0 7.7 23.2 66.2 100.0 135.2 192.7 234.0 291.5 357.3 438.0 520.7 661.6 898.7 906.6 924.3 921.0 922.1 924.4 927.7 935.7 941.2 966.9 991.9 1021.7 1059.3 1072.5 1072.0 1086.6 1098.6 1102.4 1100.9 1126.1 1136.1 1148.9 1172.9 1200.9 1194.5 1182.2 1189.3 1176.7 1159.7 1160.8 1147.9 1131.1 1152.7 1160.7 1182.4 1198.1 1206.8 1231.4 1247.2 1241.2 1225.4 1216.5 1224.4 1220.6 1223.9 1226.2 1243.8 1268.6 1290.1 1342.9 1360.5 1362.4 1368.2 1406.8 1397.9 1419.2 1422.1 1441.4 1473.7 1528.5 1565.2 1562.0

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Food

429 4.8 9.8 22.4 62.7 100.0 134.5 193.4 248.3 308.7 407.7 530.2 658.4 771.3 1039.8 1054.8 1065.0 1076.6 1090.4 1105.1 1115.0 1127.0 1148.5 1163.7 1186.0 1201.5 1233.8 1256.7 1267.8 1284.1 1299.2 1317.5 1323.9 1331.6 1357.6 1370.5 1377.1 1369.3 1375.7 1386.5 1399.3 1420.7 1455.3 1477.2 1504.2 1549.9 1571.3 1582.0 1600.7 1616.9 1650.5 1693.6 1700.1 1706.0 1720.0 1738.9 1739.5 1756.5 1766.5 1774.9 1796.2 1809.8 1843.4 1863.0 1877.4 1885.4 1893.8 1892.0 1934.8 1940.0 1985.6 2006.3 2019.7 2043.4 2048.8 2081.1

1994 = 100

Non-Food

TABLE 2: MONTH ON MONTH INFLATION RATES Pecent Period Jan 04 – Dec Feb 04 – Jan Mar 04 – Feb Apr 04 – Mar May 04 – Apr Jun 04 – May Jul 04 – Jun Aug 04 – Jul Sep 04 – Aug Oct 04 - Sep Nov 04 – Oct Dec 04 – Nov Jan 05 – Dec Feb 05 – Jan Mar 05 – Feb Apr 05 – Mar May 05 – Apr Jun 05 – May Jul 05 – Jun Aug 05 – Jul Sep 05 – Aug Oct 05 - Sep Nov 05 – Oct Dec 05 – Nov Jan 06 – Dec Feb 06 – Jan Mar 06 – Feb Apr 06 – Mar May 06 – Apr Jun 06 – May Jul 06 – Jun Aug 06 – Jul Sep 06 – Aug Oct 06 – Sep Nov 06 – Oct Dec 06 – Nov Jan 07 – Dec Feb 07 – Jan Mar 07 – Feb Apr 07 – Mar May 07 – Apr Jun 07 – May Jul 07 – Jun Aug 07 – Jul Sep 07 – Aug Oct 07 – Sep Nov 07 – Oct Dec 07 – Nov Jan 08 – Dec Feb 08 – Jan Mar 08 – Feb Apr 08 – Mar May 08 – Apr Jun 08 – May Jul 08 – Jun Aug 08 – Jul Sep 08 – Aug Oct 08 – Sep Nov 08 – Oct Dec 08 – Nov Jan 09 – Dec Feb 09 – Jan

03 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 09

Total 2.6 1.1 1.5 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.2 2.1 2.3 2.2 3.2 1.5 0.4 1.3 1.1 0.8 0.2 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.3 1.0 -0.1 -0.2 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.8 1.6 0.7 1.5 1.2 1.4 2.3 0.8 -0.1 -0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.3 1.3 1.8 2.5 1.0 0.3 0.4 1.3 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.2 1.4 2.4 1.3 0.7

Food 2.3 0.9 2.0 -0.4 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.6 3.0 3.7 1.2 0.0 1.4 1.1 0.3 -0.1 2.3 0.9 1.1 2.1 2.4 -0.5 -1.0 0.6 -1.1 -1.4 0.1 -1.1 -1.5 1.9 0.7 1.9 1.3 0.7 2.0 1.3 -0.5 -1.3 -0.7 0.6 -0.3 0.3 0.2 1.4 2.0 1.7 4.1 1.3 0.1 0.4 2.8 -0.6 1.5 0.2 1.4 2.2 3.7 2.4 -0.2

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Non-Food 2.9 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.9 1.3 1.9 1.3 2.7 1.9 0.9 1.3 1.2 1.4 0.5 0.6 1.9 1.0 0.5 -0.6 0.5 0.8 0.9 0.5 2.4 1.5 1.8 3.0 1.4 0.7 1.2 1.0 2.1 2.6 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.1 0.0 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.2 0.8 1.9 1.1 0.8. 0.4 0.5 -0.1 2.3 0.3 2.3 1.5 0.7 1.2 0.3 1.6

TABLE 3: TWELVE-MONTH INFLATION RATES Percent Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Period 04 – Jan 04 – Feb 04 – Mar 04 – Apr 04 – May 04 – Jun 04 – Jul 04 – Aug 04 – Sep 04 – Oct 04 – Nov 04 – Dec 05 – Jan 05 – Feb 05 – Mar 05 – Apr 05 – May 05 – Jun 05 – Jul 05 – Aug 05 – Sep 05 – Oct 05 – Nov 05 – Dec 06 – Jan 06 – Feb 06 – Mar 06 – Apr 06 – May 06 – Jun 06 – Jul 06 – Aug 06 – Sep 06 – Oct 06 – Nov 06 – Dec 07 – Jan 07 – Feb 07 – Mar 07 – Apr 07 – May 07 – Jun 07 – Jul 07 – Aug 07 – Sep 07 – Oct 07 – Nov 07 – Dec 08 – Jan 08 – Feb 08 – Mar 08 – Apr 08 – Apr 08 – Jun 08 – Jul 08 – Aug 08 – Sep 08 – Oct 08 – Nov 08 – Dec 09 – Jan 09 – Feb

03 03 03 03 03 03 03 03 03 03 03 03 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 06 06 06 o6 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 08 08

Total 17.4 16.8 17.6 17.8 17.4 18.6 19.5 18.9 17.8 18.0 18.3 17.5 18.2 18.7 17.4 18.6 19.1 19.2 18.7 19.3 19.5 18.3 17.2 15.9 12.2 10.3 10.7 9.4 8.6 8.5 8.7 8.0 8.2 7.9 8.1 8.2 9.8 12.6 12.7 12.4 11.8 11.1 11.2 10.7 9.3 9.0 8.7 8.9 9.3 9.5 9.8 10.1 10.9 12.1 12.6 13.2 14.2 15.2 15.3 16.6 16.0 14.0

Food 12.5 12.9 15.9 16.3 16.9 18.7 19.9 18.7 15.7 16.0 16.8 16.3 17.9 18.3 16.0 18.0 19.1 19.3 18.7 20.4 20.7 18.8 18.3 17.5 12.8 10.2 10.9 8.3 5.6 5.3 4.3 0.4 1.5 1.0 0.8 -0.2 1.0 4.2 4.9 5.5 5.7 4.8 6.7 7.9 6.2 5.6 5.2 5.9 6.9 9.1 9.1 9.8 11.7 15.6 14.2 16.3 16.2 17.6 18.5 20.5 21.3 16.3

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Non-Food 23.5 21.6 19.6 19.4 18.0 18.5 19.0 19.2 20.1 20.3 20.0 18.9 18.7 19.1 19.0 19.3 19.2 19.2 18.7 18.2 18.2 17.8 16.1 14.0 11.5 10.3 10.4 10.6 12.0 12.1 13.6 16.4 15.7 15.4 16.2 18.1 20.0 22.1 21.5 20.1 18.2 17.7 15.6 13.3 12.4 12.2 12.2 11.9 11.7 10.0 10.4 10.5 10.1 8.8 11.2 10.4 12.4 13.0 12.4 12.9 11.1 11.7

These Consumer Price Indices cover three series, namely: •

The Metropolitan Low Income Group; which covers Low Income households in the urban areas

•

The Metropolitan High Income Group; which covers High Income households in the urban areas

•

The Non-Metropolitan Group; covering households in rural areas.

The Metropolitan areas comprise the 10 major towns. These include Livingstone, Lusaka urban, Kabwe urban and all the Copperbelt towns. The Metropolitan areas are further classified into Low and High Income households. All the small towns and the rural parts form the NonMetropolitan. In addition, a Composite Consumer Price Index series combining the three groups is also compiled. The base period for the Consumer Price Index is 1994.

William C. Mayaka ACTING DIRECTOR - CENTRAL STATISTICAL OFFICE

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