Annual food inflation continued to increase at a faster pace in relation to the other items of the consumer basket during the second quarter of 2022, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) Chief Executive Officer, Alex Shimuafeni revealed.

Shimuafeni, during the launch of the 2022 second quarter Gross Domestic Product report on Wednesday said food inflation increased by 6.6 per cent during the period under review compared to an increase of 7.1 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2021.

“Food inflation increase is worrisome,” said Shimuafeni, who attributed the increase to the escalating fuel prices and the high bill on the import of commodities.

Shimuafeni indicated the nominal value for exports of goods and services in the second quarter stood at N. dollars16.3 billion, whilst imports of goods and services expanded to N.dollars 25.5 billion, resulting in a deterioration of the external balance of goods and services.

For the quarter under consideration, average prices for oil and fats; fruits and bread; and cereals registered the highest inflation of 25.7, 16.1 and 6.8 per cent respectively.

Meat posted the lowest inflation rate of 3.8 per cent, followed by fish and vegetables, which recorded the second lowest inflation of 4.2 per cent each.

He further indicated that the inflation rate for oil and fats increased by 25.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 12.6 per cent in the same period in 2021, noting that the main drivers of the price increase were cooking oil and cooking fats, which recorded increases of 38.4 and 26.3 per cent respectively.

However, butter on the other hand registered a marginal deflation of 0.3 per cent during the same period, while the price for fruits accelerated by 16.1 per cent compared to 8.3 per cent recorded in 2021.

“Avocados recorded the highest price change of 72.5 per cent, followed by citrus fruits at 8.3 per cent, tinned fruits at 7.3 per cent,” he indicated.

Shimuafeni went on to highlight that inflation for the bread and cereals category in the second quarter of 2022 picked up by recording an increase of 6.8 per cent, compared to 4.0 per cent recorded in the same quarter of the preceding year.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency