At the end of September 2023, inflation rate in Cameroon reached an annual average of 7.8%. This increase was mainly as a result of the rise in food prices and transport costs, with inflation rates of 12.8% and 11.5% respectively.
The increase in food prices may be explained mainly by the increase in the prices of vegetables, breads and cereals, fish and seafood, milk, cheese and eggs, fruit, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery as well as oils and fats. This inflationary trend was the result of a combination of both domestic and global factors. The price increase was more significant for local products (+8.5%) than for imported products (+6.0%). At the national level, the reduction of subsidies on hydrocarbon prices, climate disruptions and security challenges particularly in the North-West and South-West regions have contributed to fuelling inflation. Internationally, inflation was mainly driven by tensions stemming from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, global inflation is falling, international supply chains are normalizing, global commodity prices are down compared to 2022 and most central banks have adopted restrictive monetary policy. In anticipation and taking into account the shocks facing the country, inflation rate at the end of 2023 could exceed the initial forecast to stand around 7.3%.
