Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSAE) announced that Ethiopia's inflation rate rose to 35.1% up in December 2021, from 33% in November, which is the highest rate in almost a decade.
This is bad news for the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country which was recently delisted by the US from AGOA.
The increment was mainly due to a rise in food prices, according to CSAE.
The food price increased to 41.6% in December surging significantly from 28.9% in November last year, the data indicated.
The prices for staple foods such as vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, spices, coffee and non-alcoholics all increased, it stated.
Unfortunately, this casts a dark shadow over an earlier forecast by Fitch Solutions which projected a positive outlook for the country's consumer spending in 2022, Business Insider Africa reported.
Ethiopia's household spending was expected to grow by 4.0% in 2022, up from a 1.7% growth in 2021.
The food prices usually go up in December due to the increased demand mainly associated with the Christmas celebrations, as to CSAE.
It also noted that the months-long war in the country had contributed to the surge in inflation. This is because the war has disrupted both farming activities and supply chains in the country.
0 Comments