Namibia’s year-on-year inflation rate witnessed a slowdown in April 2024, dropping to 4.8% compared to 6.3% recorded in April 2023, attributed to a decrease in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) Consumer Price Index (CPI), the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, which accounts for 16.5% of the CPI basket, saw a decline in its annual inflation rate.
In April 2023, the food and non-alcoholic beverages category inflation stood at 13.4%, but by April 2024, it had shrunk to a much more manageable 4.8%.
The report further states that several subcategories within food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed to this positive trend.
Bread and cereals, a vital component with a weight of 4.8% in the CPI, experienced a notable price decrease.
Similarly, subcategories like oils and fats and vegetables, including potatoes and other tubers, all saw a decline in inflation compared to the previous year.
While food prices played a leading role in curbing overall inflation, other factors also contributed.
The alcoholic beverages and tobacco category, though still experiencing a relatively high inflation rate of 7.3%, showed a slight slowdown compared to April 2023 (6.7%).
“The annual inflation rate for the alcoholic beverages and tobacco category, which accounts for 12.6 percent of the consumer basket, was witnessed at 7.3 percent during the period under review compared to 6.7 percent registered a year ago. Month-on-month, the inflation rate for this category increased by 1.1 percent compared to a decline of 0.1 percent recorded a month earlier,” the report stated.
However, not all categories mirrored this positive trend. Inflation in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels saw a slight increase to 3.6%, compared to 2.6% in April 2023.
This rise stemmed from subcategories like electricity, gas and fuels, water supply, and rental payments for dwellings.
Additionally, the transport category experienced a moderate inflation rise (5.9%) compared to the previous year (3.8%), primarily driven by price increases within the operation of the personal transport equipment subcategory, particularly petrol/diesel prices.
The CPI report also highlighted variations in inflation rates across Namibia’s three economic zones.
Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Otjikoto, Otjozondjupa and Zambezi), which tends to have the lowest inflation rates nationally, saw a significant slowdown to 3.9% in April 2024, compared to 6.0% the previous year. This decrease largely mirrored the national trend, with food prices playing a leading role.
Zone 2 (Khomas) experienced a similar slowdown, with inflation dropping to 5.4% from 5.9% in April 2023. Once again, the decline in food prices was a key driver.
Zone 3 (Hardap, //Kharas, Omaheke and Erongo), however, saw a slightly different picture.
While inflation did slow down to 3.9% compared to 6.0% the previous year, the decrease was less pronounced than in other zones, suggesting that factors beyond food prices may have played a more significant role in inflation patterns within Zone 3.
