Mozambique: Inflation slows to 0.22% in March – INE

Prices in Mozambique increased by 0.22% in March, a third of the growth recorded in February, recovering after logistical difficulties caused by flooding in the country, according to data released today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March from the INE indicates that Mozambique “recorded a price increase of 0.22%”, compared with February (0.68%), again influenced by the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, which contributed 0.11 percentage points to the total monthly variation (0.37 in February). The report highlights monthly variations by product, namely price increases in March for tomatoes (5%), full meals in restaurants (0.7%), new light motor vehicles (6.4%), charcoal (2.2%), onions (4.1%), cabbage (2.2%) and motorbikes (1.8%).

“These contributed a total of around 0.22 percentage points to the monthly variation,” the CPI report states. From mid-January to early February, traffic on National Roads 1 and 2, from Maputo to the north and south respectively, was completely cut off due to floods — which affected around 725,000 people — disrupting supply chains and driving prices higher. The March CPI shows that cumulative inflation for the first three months of 2026 stands at 2.16%, while the year-on-year rate is 3.37%.

Prices in Mozambique rose by 3.23% in 2025, according to previous INE data, below the 2024 figure and below government forecasts. Mozambique recorded eight monthly declines (deflation) in the consumer price index in less than a year and a half, four of which occurred between April and July last year, before returning to increases from August onwards. Cumulative inflation for 2024, according to previous INE data, stood at 4.15%, compared with 5.3% in 2023, but below the peak of almost 13% recorded in July 2022. The Government had forecast inflation of around 7% for both 2025 and 2026.