Warming food prices were primarily behind the increase in inflation to 2.7 percent in February from 2.5 percent in January, Statistics Botswana figures indicate.
According to the data, average food and beverage prices increased 5.5 percent in the 12 months to February, compared to 5.1 percent in the 12 months to January. The average prices of breads and cereals, which carry the heaviest weighting in the food inflation calculation, rose 5.9 percent in the 12 months to February, compared to 5.5 percent over the 12 months to January. Prices generally rose across all food items between January and February, ending a prolonged period of declining food prices stretching back to the beginning of last year.
While Statistics Botswana gave no reasons for the warming food prices, analysts note that most countries in the region are seeing higher levels as the 2024–2025 harvest will only come in around May. In the meantime, stocks of key grains such as maize, wheat, sorghum and others are tapering out, leading to price pressures, particularly in the key regional supplier, South Africa.
Currency weaknesses in some of the regional economies have worsened the inflation. For Botswana, in the 12 months to February, the only prices to decline in food items were those of oils and fats, as the 2023 decision to remove Value Added Tax on the products, continued to pay off.
