- Decline led by lower food and transportation costs
GAZETTE REPORTER
The latest Consumer Price Index report released by Statistics Botswana shows a 2.2 percent decline in Botswana’s annual inflation rate for May 2023, dropping to 5.7 percent from 7.9 percent in April.
Key contributors to the decline were Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Transport, and Miscellaneous Goods & Services.
The Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages group accounted for a 1.9 percent increase in the annual inflation rate while Transport and Miscellaneous Goods & Services contributed 1.0 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.
Rural villages down 2.5%
The regional inflation rates for April and May 2023 demonstrated a notable decrease. According to the report, Rural Villages experienced a decline of 2.5 percentage points, dropping from 8.6 percent in April to 6.1 percent in May.
Urban Villages and Cities & Towns recorded drops of 2.3 and 2.0 percentage points respectively, resulting in inflation rates of 5.6 percent for both regions in May 2023.
The national Consumer Price Index saw a slight increase of 0.4 percent, rising from 129.7 in April 2023 to 130.2 in May. The Rural Villages index grew by 0.5 percent to 129.7 while the Cities & Towns index increased by 0.4 percent to 130.2. The Urban Villages index also rose by 0.4 percent to 130.5.
Most group indices stable
Most group indices remained stable between April and May 2023, with changes of less than 1.0 percent, except for the Restaurants & Hotels group, which experienced a 1.0 percent increase.
The rise was primarily driven by a general increase in the constituent section indices, notably Restaurants, Cafes & the Like, which grew by 1.2 percent.
The Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco group index increased by 0.8 percent, driven by rises in the constituent section indices of Alcoholic Beverages (0.9 percent) and Tobacco (0.6 percent).
Similarly, the Miscellaneous Goods & Services group index grew by 0.7 percent due to increases in the constituent section indices of Personal Care (1.2 percent), Insurance (0.7 percent), and Financial Services (0.6 percent).
Oils & Fats down 1.1%
The Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages group index rose by 0.5 percent, primarily driven by increases in constituent section indices, except for Oils & Fats, which experienced a 1.1 percent drop.
The All-Tradeables index showed a 0.6 percent increase, with the Domestic Tradeables index rising by 0.6 percent and the Imported Tradeables index growing by 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the Non-Tradeables index increased by 0.2 percent.
The All-Tradeables inflation rate decreased by 3.8 percentage points to 6.5 percent in May 2023, compared to April’s rate of 10.3 percent.
Imported tradeables down 4.8%
The Imported Tradeables inflation rate dropped by 4.8 percentage points to 4.5 percent, while the Domestic Tradeables inflation rate declined by 0.6 percentage points to 12.5 percent.
The Non-Tradeables inflation rate remained unchanged at 4.6 percent, the same as in April.
The decline in Botswana’s annual inflation rate, led by lower food and transportation costs, indicates a positive trend for consumers.