Bread, cereals most popular foods in Namibia

Bread and cereals were the most purchased foods in the country in August, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).

In its August Namibia Consumer Price Index (NCPI) report released on Tuesday, the NSA noted that these items also recorded low inflation since August last year.

“The food sub-category accounts for 14.8% of the consumer basket in the NCPI. Within the food subcomponent, bread and cereals account for the highest weight of food items that consumers purchase.”

According to the report, the second most bought food item was meat, followed by sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery.

A look at the average retail price of selected products for August showed that people in Zone 1 (the Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi regions) paid more for bananas compared to other regions.

According to statistician general Alex Shimuafeni, in Zone 1 bananas cost N$31,56 (1kg) and N$29,21 in Zone 2 (Khomas – which is made up of Windhoek only).

Consumers in Zone 3 (the //Kharas, Erongo, Hardap and Omaheke regions) paid N$31,38.

“Meanwhile, consumers in Zone 3 paid the highest price for pure sunflower oil (750ml) at N$31,32, followed by Zone 2 consumers at N$30,91, while Zone 1 consumers paid the lowest price at N$30,67,” said Shimuafeni.

In August, the Khomas region recorded the highest inflation, followed by Zone 1 regions and Zone 3, according to Shimuafeni.

Inflation in Khomas was 5.4%, while both zones 1 and 3 recorded 3.9%.

Inflation is a decrease in the purchasing power of money, reflected in a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy.

During the month of August, the core inflation rate stood at 3.8%, while the headline inflation rate was 4.4%.

“Core inflation refers to a measure of inflation that excludes certain volatile elements from the overall inflation calculation. These volatile elements typically include food and energy prices, which tend to experience significant price swings due to factors such as weather conditions, geopolitical events or changes in supply and demand,” said Shimuafeni.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels component recorded an inflation rate of 4.1%, which is double what was recorded in August 2023 (2.8%).