. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Mar 2023
Year-on-Year Analysis
The All Items index rose 4.6% for the twelve months ending March 2023
The Food index rose 10.0% over the past twelve months.
The index for Food Products N.E.C recorded the largest increase of 21.6%.
Average price increases were observed for salt, bbq sauce and ketchup. The index for Oils and Fats rose 15.1% over the year and the index for Milk, Cheese and Eggs increased by 13.2%.
The index for Meat and Meat Products rose 10.9% over the last year as five of the six subcategories increased.
The indexes for Vegetables, Meat and Meat Products, and Food Products N.E.C are the three food groups’ indexes influencing the increase in the Food index.
The index for Vegetables accounted for 19.1% of the change while Meat and Meat contributed 18.8%.
The index for Food Products N.E.C added 16.7%. The other groups’ driving the increase ranged from Fruit (2.8%) to Bread and Cereals (15.4%).
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 4.4%.
Nine of the twelve major indexes remained the same as was the period ending February 2023. The index for Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics increased 0.3% over the twelve months.
The index for Transport declined 0.9% as a result of a reduction in the index for Operations of Personal Transport Equipment which fell 7.5%.
The decline was attributed to the reduction in the both gasoline and diesel price at the pumps. Gasoline declined from $15.70 to $13.99 while diesel reduced from $15.50 to 14.25 per gallon.
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Monthly Consumer Price Index increased by 0.2% for the month ending March 2023.
The index for Food declined by 0.2% over the month. The index for Fish and Seafood fell 2.9% over the month.
The index for Fruit decreased by 2.2% and the index for Vegetables declined by 1.2%.
In contrast, the index for Milk, Cheese, and Eggs rose by 4.2% after declining 3.9% the previous month. The increase was largely attributed to a 6.3% increase in the index for Preserved Milk and Other Milk Products. The index for Food Products N.E.C rose 2.8%.
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy increased 0.4% in over the same period. The Transport Services index rose 4.7% resulting from 5.6% increase in the index for Passenger Transport by Air.
The index for Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance increased by 0.4%. In contrast, the index for Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics decreased by 0.9%.
Methodology
What is the consumer price index (CPI) measuring and how is it done?
The All Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the main measure of what is commonly called inflation, or headline inflation.
It measures the change in prices, on average, from month to month, and from year to year of the goods and services bought by most households.
Prices are collected monthly and quarterly from supermarkets and other suppliers of goods and services.
The pattern of household expenditure on these goods and services is derived from a regular household budget (or expenditure) survey (HBS).
The prices and spending patterns (known as weights) are then combined to calculate the price indices for groups of goods and services and for the All Items index. These indices are based on expenditure patterns in 2006.
The All Items (or overall) index, with all of its twelve (12) component indices, is published each month.
For a detailed account of the methodology used in calculating the CPI, please call the Statistics Division.
Copies of the CPI for Mar 2023 can be accessed on the Division’s official website www.statistics.gov.ag
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