Maravi

Zambia’s inflation hits single digit

Zambia’s inflation hits single digit
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Fri 01 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT

THE Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday announced that Zambia managed to close the year with single digit inflation recorded at 9.9 per cent. According to CSO data, the country’s annual inflation rate declined by 1.6 percentage points from 11.5 per cent recorded in November.

And preliminary data is indicating a 6.3 per cent economic growth rate while poverty reduction recorded a marginal decline.

It indicated that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was expected to grow by 6.3 per cent, buoyed by the recovery in mining, construction and the agriculture sector which during the year under review recorded a bumper harvest in maize.

“The annual rate of inflation as measured by all the items Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 1.6 percentage points from 11.5 per cent in November 2009 to 9.9 per cent in December 2009,” CSO director of Census and Statistics Efreda Chulu told journalists in Lusaka yesterday during the end of year briefing. “The decline of 1.6 percentage points from 11.5 per cent in the annual inflation rate in December 2009 was as a result of decreases in some food prices. In addition, price increases recorded between November and December 2009 are lower compared to price increases between November and December 2008.”

And Chulu said economic growth in the country was on the upswing and on track to beat the targeted six per cent growth rate for this year.

She explained that although most sectors of the local economy were hurt by the effects of the global economic crisis, others did well while in some cases, companies, especially those in the mining sector that suffered in the first half of the year, were showing strong signs of recovering.

“But so far, we have collected from some companies, things are looking a little better and preliminary data indicate that we might still achieve 6.3 per cent if not more,” she said. “The latest figure for economic growth for this year (2009) will be known latest by February 2010 but suffice to say that all indications that we will achieve that target if not more.”
Meanwhile, Zambia recorded a trade surplus valued at K332.9 billion in November 2009.

“Zambia’s major export products in November 2009 were from intermediate goods category accounting for 72.7 per cent comprising mainly copper cathodes and sections of refined copper, plates, wires and sheets of refined copper and articles of cobalt,” said Chulu. “Raw materials accounted for 16.6 per cent comprising mainly copper ores and concentrates and cobalt ores and concentrates. Other exports were consumer goods and capital goods collectively accounting for 10.7 per cent of total exports.”

And Western Province remains the poorest province in the country and also the slowest in terms of unshackling its huge number of people living in extreme poverty, according to CSO.

According to the Living Conditions and Monitoring Survey on National Poverty Trends between 1996 and 2006, Western Province has the highest number of extreme poor people at 63 per cent in 2006.

Lusaka remains the province with the lowest number of extreme hungry people currently at 8.2 per cent in 2006 from the previous 11.1 per cent in 1996.

Labels: INFLATION, NEOLIBERALISM

posted by MrK @ 10:27 AM