Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
NATIONAL statistics agency, ZimStat has said the all-items export index dropped by 2 percent month on month from 399,1 in February to 391,1 in March 2024 while the all items import index increased marginally by 0,9 percent from 383,3 to 386,9 in the same period respectively.
Import and export price indices are economic indicators that measure changes in the prices of goods traded between countries.
The indices provide insight into the competitiveness of a country’s goods and trade balance. The export price index is a measure of the percentage change in the prices of goods that a country sells to other nations during a specific period.
It is a useful tool to evaluate how competitive a country’s exports are in the global market. An increase in the export price index indicates that a country is receiving higher prices for exported goods, which positively impacts the trade balance. The import price index measures the percentage change in the prices of goods that a country buys from other nations during a specific period.
It is used to evaluate the effects of changes in the cost of imports. An increase in the import price index indicates that the cost of imported goods is rising.
“The all-items export index increased by 4,6 percent from 374 in March 2023 to 391,1 in March 2024. However, the all items import index decreased year-on-year by 6,2 percent from 412,3 in March 2023 to 386,9 in March 2024,” said ZimStat manager national accounts Mr Grown Chirongwe.
“The terms of trade index remained favourable in March 2024 although the all month-on-month all items terms of trade index dropped by 2,9 percent from 104,1 in February 2024 to 101,1 in March 2024.
“Consequently, the Terms of Trade year-on-year index increased by 11,4 percent from 90,7 in March 2023 to 101,1 in March 2024.”
Mr Chirongwe said the average quarter to quarter export indices increased by 17,9 percent from 317,2 in the fourth quarter 2023 to 373,9 in the first quarter 2024 whilst import indices dropped by 1,4 percent from 377,0 to 371,9 in the same period respectively.
The average year on-year quarterly export indices increased by 1,8 percent from 367,2 in the first quarter 2023 to 373,9 in the first quarter 2024 while the year-on-year import indices dropped by 7,4 percent from 401,7 to 371,9 in the same period respectively.
“The quarterly terms of trade index increased by 18,4 percent from 84,8 in the fourth quarter 2023 to 100,4 in the first quarter 2024.
“The year-on year quarterly terms of trade index also increased by 9,5 percent from 91,7 in the first quarter 2023 to 100,4 in the first quarter 2024,” he said. — @SikhulekelaniM1
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter