0.52 percent

The rate of inflation in Mozambique in April was 0.52 per cent, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), based on the consumer price indices from the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and Beira).

This brought inflation for the first four months of the year to 1.75 per cent. Yearly inflation (from 1 May 2019 to 30 April 2020) was 3.32 per cent.

Although many prices remained virtually unchanged in April, there were some significant price increases. The average price of brown sugar rose by seven per cent – certainly because Value Added Tax (VAT) is now being charged on sugar, at the standard rate of 17 per cent. For years sugar was exempt from VAT – but the exemption expired at the end of 2019.

Other price rises included onions (15 per cent), vegetable oil (5.8 per cent), fresh eggs (12.1 per cent), frozen fish (2.5 per cent), and second hand cars (5.4 per cent).

These increases were largely compensated for by declines in the prices of oranges (down by 35.5 per cent), fresh prawns (10 per cent), cabbage (9.9 per cent), tomatoes (8.2 per cent) and butter beans (5.1 per cent).

Throughout April Mozambique was under a state of emergency, declared to halt the spread of the coronavirus. But the state of emergency and the various restrictions associated with it seem to have had little impact on the level of prices.

Comparing the three cities, the highest inflation in April was 0.77 per cent in Nampula, followed by 0.55 per cent in Maputo, and 0.13 per cent in Beira.