By Derrick Silimina

The Zambia Statistics Agency says the annual inflation for February 2026 has further dropped to 7.5 percent from 9.4 percent recorded in January 2026.

In a statement, ZamStats noted that this was mainly attributed to price movements in prices of food items such as Cereals (Breakfast Mealie meal, Roller mealie meal, Maize grain, Rice imported, Wheat Plain Household Flour); Fruit (Lemons, Bananas, Water Melon, Avocadoes); Vegetables (Lumanda, Cassava leaves, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Sweet potatoes, Green pepper); Fresh Milk and Cooking oil.

“This means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 7.5 percent between February 2025 and February 2026. This development was attributed to price movements in both food and non-food items,” said ZamStats Acting Statistician General Sheila Mudenda.

Mudenda further noted that the annual non-food inflation for February 2026 was recorded at 6.5 percent compared to 7.3 percent in January 2026.

She noted this outturn was mainly attributed to price movements in prices of nonfood items such as Fuel (Diesel, Petrol); Passenger transport by air (Air Fare Domestic, Air Fare Regional); Purchase of Motor Vehicles and Accomodation services.