The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that soaring prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have led to a significant increase in inflation, reaching 22.41% in May.
This marks the highest inflation rate in almost two decades, surpassing the previous record set in April at 22.22%.
Based on the NBS’s ‘Consumer Price Index’ for May 2023, released on Thursday, the headline inflation rate rose to 22.41% compared to the previous month’s rate of 22.22%.
This represents a 0.19% increase. Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, inflation surged by 4.70% from May 2022, where it stood at 17.71%.
In May, the average prices of goods witnessed a slight rise of 0.03%. The NBS also reported that the percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index for the twelve-month period ending in May 2023, compared to the previous twelve-month period, was 21.20%.
This shows a significant increase of 4.75% compared to May 2022’s figure of 16.45%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 11.61% of the year-on-year inflation, making it the leading contributor. Other significant contributors included housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel (3.75%); clothing and footwear (1.71%); transport (1.46%); and furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance (1.13%).