The annual rate of inflation has shot up to 8.1 percent, up from 7.8 percent recorded in July, 2018 according to Central Statistical Office data.

Announcing Zambia’s annual rate of inflation for the month of August, CSO Acting Director of census and statistics, Goodson Sinyenga, says this means that the on average, prices of goods and services increased by 8.1 percent between August 2017 and August 2018.

Mr. Sinyenga says the increase in the annual rate of inflation is mainly attributed to both food and non-food items such as breakfast mealie meal, cassava meal, purchase of vehicles and charcoal.

“The year on year food inflation rate for August was recorded at 8.3 percent compared to 8.1 percent recorded in July 2018 indicating an increase of 0.2 percentage points. The increase in the annual food inflation rate is mainly as a result of price changes of breakfast mealie meal and cassava mealie meal”, he told journalists in Lusaka.

Meanwhile, CSO Acting Director of Census and Statistics says Zambia’s trade deficit increased by 48.8 percent from K1.6 billion recorded in June 2018 to K829 billion in July 2018.

He says this trade deficit means that the country imported more than it exported in nominal terms.

He has disclosed that imports decreased by 12.9 percent from K10.2 billion in June 2018 to K8.9 billion in July 2018 attributing it the decrease in the imports of capital goods by 20.1 percent from K3.3 billion in June 2018 to K2.7 billion in July 2018.

“Exports decreased by 6.1 percent from K8.6 billion in June 2018 to K8 billion in July 2018. The decrease in the drop in the traditional exports by 8.8 percent from K6.6 billion in June 2018 to K6 billion in July 2018”, he further disclosed.

Mr. Sinyenga says the reduction in the trade deficit is due to the decrease in imports outweighing that of exports.