Market Update

Ethiopia’s year-on-year inflation slowed for a third straight month, to 25.5 per cent in May, down from 29.8 per cent last month and 32.5 per cent in March. According to the Central Statistics Agency, food price inflation declined to 29.2 per cent (from 36.7 per cent in April) while non-food inflation remained unchanged at 19.6 per cent. General inflation continues to be driven by food price inflation, which stood at 27.3 per cent for pulses, 33.4 per cent for cereals, 34.8 per cent for dairy, and 88.4 per cent for meat. However, while food prices remain elevated compared to the five-year average, the monthly increase in food prices was less steep than seasonal expectations (compared to the five year average). By region: cereal prices fell by 4.4 per cent between April and May in Somali Region and remained stable in Oromia, but continued to increase in SNNPR (by 5.3 per cent) and Gambella (by 3.1 per cent). Cereal prices have steadily increased in SNNPR and Gambella since January 2012 and November 2011 respectively. Countrywide, cereal prices are expected to rise moderately until the arrival of the next belg harvest on the market (late August-September 2012). For more information, contact: infodrmfss@dppc.gov.et