Price hike to ease in 2023- African Development Bank report

January 21, 2023

(3 minutes read)

The just released African Development Bank report has expressed confidence in the resilience of the economies in the continent with the double-digit price hikes easing during the current year.

The report stated that all 54 nations were hard-hit by global economic developments like the Ukraine war leading to fuel and food shortages, climate change and aftershocks of the Covid pandemic.

The just released African Development Bank report has expressed confidence in the resilience of the economies in the continent with the double-digit price hikes easing during the current year.

The report stated that all 54 nations were hard-hit by global economic developments like the Ukraine war leading to fuel and food shortages, climate change and aftershocks of the Covid pandemic. As a consequence, an estimated 15 million more people were driven into extreme poverty in Africa. The economic situation further worsened due to factors like a stronger dollar, inflation, and a slowdown in demand for exports to major trading partners in Europe and China plunging the economic growth from 4.8 percent in 2021 to 3.8 percent in 2022. The most severe slowdown was recorded in southern Africa.

The AFDB report projects growth of around four percent this year and in 2024 pinning hope on China’s re-opening after Covid. Pushed by increasing commodity prices, Central Africa is forecast to see the fastest growth.

Inflation is expected to slow down to 13.5 percent in 2023 from 13.8 percent in 2022, reportedly the highest in more than a decade due to prudent monetary policy and better food supply. The worst case of Inflation was seen in Zimbabwe, where inflation hit 285 percent up from 98.5 percent the previous year. The report even projects that inflation will further go down to 8.8 percent in 2024, lower than pre-Covid levels.