Maputo — The average level of prices in Mozambique rose by just 0.7 per cent in March, according to the latest figures on inflation published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Based on the consumer price indices for the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira), the INE calculates that inflation for the first three months of the year was 3.34 per cent. The main drivers of this inflation were food and drink, and transport.
Annual inflation (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022) was 6.67 per cent. This was a decline on the annual inflation measured in February (6.84 per cent) or January (7.8 per cent).
Among the goods that contributed most to inflation in March were liquid fuels, following the decree from the Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE) on 17 March, which increased fuel prices by up to 15 per cent.
Smoothing these price rises out across the month, the INE puts the increase in the price of diesel at 7.2 per cent, of petrol at 5.8 per cent, and of butane cooking gas at 11.1 per cent. Other significant price rises were for onions (8.7 per cent), vegetable oil (eight per cent), and dried fish (2.8 per cent).
On the other hand, the price of several common products fell during the month, including cucumbers (down by 22.1 per cent), lettuce (6.3 per cent), coconuts (2.8 per cent), tomatoes (2.6 per cent), groundnuts (1.7 per cent), and charcoal (0.7 per cent).
The three cities did not all have the same level of inflation in March. In Nampula, prices rose by 1.26 per cent, in Beira by 0.59 per cent, and in Maputo by 0.45 per cent.
