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Zambia’s annual inflation rate has declined to 6.6 percent in May, down from 6.8 percent recorded in April, according to the latest figures released in Lusaka on Thursday.
The country has also posted a K3.5 billion trade surplus, a significant rise from K0.9 billion the previous month.
Speaking during the dissemination of the May Bulletin, Statistician General, Sheila Mudenda, said the slowdown in inflation was largely influenced by price movements in key food items.
“Annual food inflation for May 2026 was recorded at 6.9 percent compared to 7.3 percent in April 2026. This means on average prices of items increased by 6.9 percent between May 2026 and May 2025,” Mudenda said.
She noted that price changes were observed in items such as cereals, vegetables, sugar, cooking oil and eggs.
Non-food inflation rose marginally to 6.1 percent, up from 6.0 percent in April 2026, driven by movements in the prices of pharmaceuticals, fuels and lubricants, as well as hammer milling charges.
Read More: Zambia’s April inflation slows to 6.8% as food prices ease; trade surplus narrows
Mudenda added that provincial contributions to overall inflation were highest in Lusaka Province at 2.5 percent, followed by the Copperbelt at 1.3 percent, while Central and Southern Provinces each contributed 0.7 percent.
The lowest contributions, at 0.2 percent each, were recorded in Luapula, North-Western and Western Provinces.
On the external sector, she revealed that Zambia recorded a K3.5 billion trade surplus in April, up from K0.9 billion in March.
“Exports, mainly comprising domestically produced goods, increased by 1.5 percent from K25 billion in March 2026 to K25.4 billion in April 2026, mainly attributed to increases in export earnings from raw materials by 17.8 percent and capital goods by 0.4 percent,” she said.
Meanwhile, imports decreased by 9.3 percent, falling from K24.1 billion in March to K21.9 billion in April 2026, a drop attributed to reduced import bills for consumer goods (43.5 percent) and raw materials (1.7 percent).
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