Tanzania’s annual headline inflation increased to 4.9% in October 2022 from 4.8% driven by rising prices of some food products, soft drinks, and non-food products.
According to data shared by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this is is the highest since 5.1% in October 2017. In 2022 alone, inflation has increased by 8 consecutive months from March 2022 when it was 3.6%.
Some food and non-food products that indicated an increase in price are:
- Fresh seafood – 8.9%
- Gas – 5.1%
- Soy – 5.1%
- Rice – 4.3%
- Maize flour – 3.2%
Other increases include:
- Finger millet by 0.6%
- Maize by 0.2 %
- Chicken by 0.7%, and
- fresh fish by 0.7%.
According to Tanzania’s Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade, prices of rice, corn, sorghum, wheat, beans, and round potatoes have also risen.
The country’s annual inflation had been on the decline since December 2021, decreasing for 4 straight months till March 2022 before jumping to 3.8% in April 2022. This reflects strong economic performance for Q1 2022 which saw a 5.4% increase in GDP compared to 5% in the corresponding period in 2021.
In the last 12 months, Tanzanians have experienced significant increases in the prices of common goods. Specifically, the price of maize increased by 120% between November 5 2021 and November 4 2022, from TSh 48, 366 ($20.74) to TSh 106, 305 ($45.59) per 100-kilogram bag.
At the same time, the price of a 100-kilogram bag of rice increased by 67% to Sh290, 594 ($124.61) while that of a 100-kilogram bag of sorghum increased by 27% to TSh 127, 500 ($54.67). A similar size of wheat increased by 61% to TSh213, 818 ($91.69).
While the rising cost of goods and services is a problem across Africa and the world, Tanzania appears to be the least affected by the situation. Across East Africa, Rwanda reported the highest inflation in October at 31% followed by Uganda at 19.7% and Kenya at 9.6%.
Nonetheless, in August 2022, Bank of Tanzania indicated that the country faces rising inflationary pressures from high import prices which impaired the fast growth of the economy. Alongside these pressures, factors said to be undermining growth include the effects of the war in Ukraine and tighter financial conditions.
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