Zambia’s Record Corn Crop Signals Inflation Is Set to Cool

Statistical Controller General Sheila Mudenda told reporters in the capital Lusaka on Thursday. The harvest has risen after stronger rains as the southern African country recovers from last year’s El Nino-induced drought, the worst in more than a century. Food prices have soared, leading to costly imports. The price of maize flour, used to make Zambia’s staple food nshima, a thick porridge eaten at most meals, rose 10.2% in April from a year earlier. Food and non-alcoholic beverages make up more than half of the country’s inflation basket. Food price growth began to slow in March for the first time in more than a year. The government expects inflation to return to the central bank’s target range of 6 to 8 percent by the end of the year for the first time since May 2019. The effects of last year’s drought, which destroyed more than half of Zambia’s cropland, are still being felt. Even before the harvest, a farmers’ lobby group called on the government to quickly ease regulated ...