Ethiopia consumer inflation edging upwards, index
Latest figures from Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency’s inflation report showed that year-on-year inflation rose to 8.6% in April 2017 from 8.5% in March 2017. On a month-on-month basis overall CPI however came down from 2.0% in March to 1.6% in April 2017.
The general CPI index increased to 163.4 points in April 2017 from 150.5 in April 2016. Overall 2016 annual inflation was recorded at 9.6% from 7.6% in 2015.
Food & non-alcoholic beverages inflation increased to 12.2% from 9.6% in the previous month, while non-food inflation fell from 7.3% in March to 4.6% in April 2017. Most of the components of food inflation showed an increase as compared to the same month a year ago.
Bread & Cereal, meat, milk, cheese & eggs, etc were among the products showing the highest increases. The report indicated that non-food inflation came down to 4.6% in April from 7.3% in March 2017 on a year-on-year basis. An 8.7% figure was recorded in April 2016.
Like other countries in the region, Ethiopia is suffering from a drought that has depressed food production, leaving 7.7 million of people in need of food aid, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stated this year March that despite widespread emergency response in Ethiopia’s agriculture sector last year to the El Niño-induced drought, humanitarian needs remain high in 2017.
New threats to food security are emerging - including severe drought in southern and southeastern pastoral areas and a growing refugee crisis in Gambella Region. Livelihood recovery will remain slow for El Niño-affected farmers, especially those in areas where harvests were below average.
