APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The semi-annual inflation rate in Ethiopia dropped to 27.7 percent in September from 35 percent in March, a senior official of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has said.
Presenting the first quarterly economic report to the Plan, Budget and Finance Affairs Standing Committee of the House of People’s Representatives, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia Mamo Mihretu on Wednesday said the food prices inflation slowed to 26.1 percent while non-food inflation remained above 30 percent in the second quarter of the Ethiopian fiscal year ending on November 10, 2023.
According to the governor, even if the inflation rate showed a declining trend over the past six months, it is one of the highest in the region.
The governor attributed the high inflation in the country to the Russia- Ukraine conflict which almost doubled food prices in the local market, poor transport and logistics network, imbalance between supply and demand and low production and productivity.
Mihretu said the east African country reported a 7.2 percent economic growth in the past Ethiopian fiscal year which ended on July 7, 2023 and it had registered an average 6.5 percent economic growth during the previous four years.
Noting that the high inflation has remained to be the major economic challenges to the country Mihretu indicated that economic imbalance, income deficit and unfolding instability has worsened the inflationary pressure on the country.
He said the government is taking various policy measures including limiting the growth of the government’s expenditure in a bid to reduce the budget deficit against the Growth National Product (GDP).
MG/as/APA