The inflation rate reached 2.5% in 2019 and became the highest rate after 2015 when it stood at 2.7%. This increase in the general price level is largely due to the increase in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.9%), restaurants and hotels (5.7%), as well as clothing and footwear (2.8%).
Food prices increased mainly due to the increase in the prices of fruit (10.0%), vegetables (6.7%), sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery (4.2%), meat (3.5%) and fish and seafood (2.7%). The year was marked in particular by the soaring prices of certain consumer products such as rice, frozen mackerel, and beef, in connection with the dysfunctions in the distribution chain probably accentuated by speculation by players who take advantage of the monetary authority’s tightening of foreign exchange exit conditions to make substantial profits. In addition, the continuing insecurity in some food-producing areas in the North-West and South-West regions, as well as the floods in the Far North, have had a negative impact on the supply of food products while increasing the demand for these products in urban areas due to the populations who have moved to the cities, particularly Bamenda and Buea.
