Tanzania’s July inflation rate rises slightly on increasing prices of food, non-food products

Dar es Salaam. Rising prices of food sent Tanzania’s annual headline inflation rate slightly up in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday, August 10, 2020.

The statistician recorded Tanzania’s annual headline inflation rate at 3.3 percent in July, slightly up from 3.2 percent that was registered during the previous month.

“The increase suggests that the speed of price change for commodities for the year ended July, 2020 has increased compared to the speed recorded for the year ended June, 2020,” NBS statistician general Albina Chuwa said in a statement posted on the bureau’s website.

NBS’s acting director of Population Census and Social Statistics Ruth Minja said in Dodoma on Monday that the rise was a result of increase in prices for food and non-food products.

Some of the food products and their percentage price increases in brackets include: vegetables (9.6), maize flour (7.9), millet (4.8), fruits (4), sardines (3.8) and cassava flour (3).

Non-food products whose prices increased and their percentage increase in brackets were: charcoal (11.6), cooking gas (5.8), clothing (2.8) and furniture (2.7).  

According to Dr Chuwa, inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages for the month of July, this year remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, the same as it was in June.