Namibians spend more on Food as Cost of Living Rises
- By solomon2day
- On 29/07/2021
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- In News
Namibians now spend more on food and non-alcoholic beverages as the cost of living rises unabated.
This is contained in a report by the Namibia Statistics Agency.
The report also stated that in comparison to a year ago, as of June 2021, 32% of the price increases consumers experienced are on food and non-alcoholic beverage items.
Food accounts for approximately 14,8% of consumer expenditure monthly.
However, this varies from one income group to another, with some people spending more than that on food.
The report noted that for June 2021, the annual inflation rate increased by 4,1% compared to 2,1% recorded in June 2020.
''Last month's inflation rate was the highest over the past 12 months. Year-to-date, prices of goods and services have been increasing at the rate of 3,4% on average.
On a monthly basis, the inflation rate increased by 0,5% compared to 0,3% recorded a month earlier.
The inflation rate for the food sub-category increased by 7,7% during June 2021 compared to an increase of 4,9% during the same period last year. This is way higher than the rate at which other goods' prices are increasing in the country.
Meat is the most expensive food item in Namibia, as according to NSA, “meat was 16% more expensive than a year ago, which registered 8%”. Chicken recorded the highest increase in this category at 25,2%, followed by offal at 18,2%.
On non-meat food items, rice recorded the highest inflation, as it was 18% more expensive than June last year, followed by bread at 10,5%. Prices for vegetables, including potatoes and other tubers, increased by 6,8% in June 2021 compared to 11,7% recorded in June 2020.
The slowdown was caused mainly by the drop in the prices of carrots (-21,9%), onions (-20,8%), and green pepper (-12,2%), as local production came to the rescue. Eggs recorded an upward price change of 7,2% followed by fresh milk, long-life milk at 5,6%, and cream at 3,6%,'' the report concluded.
Namibia Food Agriculture Inflation
