Zambia’s Inflation Eases with Record Breaking Harvest

According to the latest monthly bulletin from the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZAMSTATS), the annual inflation rate eased to 15.3% in May 2025, down from 16.5% in April. The decline is largely attributed to easing food prices and a record-breaking maize harvest forecast.

Maize production is forecasted to more than double to a record 3.66 million tons this year, helping to ease pressure on food costs. Food inflation, which began to slow in March for the first time in over a year, continued its downward trend, easing to 17.9% in May from 18.7% in April.

Retail prices for mealie meal also fell. The average price for a 25kg bag dropped 4% to 344.41 kwacha.

Meanwhile, non-food inflation also eased, falling to 11.6% in May from 13.4% in April, partly due to lower fuel prices. Overall, consumer prices rose just 0.3% month-on-month.

The Bank of Zambia maintained its key interest rate at 14.5%, citing expectations that inflation will continue to ease.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane expressed optimism earlier this week, suggesting that inflation could return to single digits this year: “I think we’ll see inflation quickly dropping,” he said. “This has been a very positive year and this will play itself out in the rest of the year.”