At the end of September 2023, the inflation rate in Cameroon reached an annual average of 7.8%. This increase is mainly due to the rise in food and transport prices, with inflation rates of 12.8% and 11.5% respectively.
The increase in food prices can 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 dynamic is the result of a combination of both domestic and global factors. The increase in prices is more marked for local products (+8.5%) than for imported products (+6.0%). At the national level, the reduction of subsidies on hydrocarbon prices, climatic disturbances and security challenges, particularly in the North-West and South-West regions, have contributed to fuelling inflation. Internationally, inflation is mainly due to tensions stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the residue of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, global inflation is receding, 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 the country is facing, the inflation rate at the end of 2023 could exceed the initial forecast and be around 7.3%.
