Inflation: Nigeria is doing better than other African nations — CBN

Inflation in Nigeria is lower than in most other African countries, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This was stated on Tuesday at the 2023 Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar by the CBN’s acting governor, Folashodun Shonubi.

According to Shonubi, who was represented by Kingsley Obiorah, Deputy Governor for Economic Policy at the CBN, there are a number of factors that have contributed to the rise in global inflation.

In order to shed light on the topic of “Nigerian Non-Oil Export Industry,” Obiorah. The Present, The Future,” a conference held in Victoria Island, Lagos, bemoaned the low growth rate in the ratio of non-oil exports to GDP.

Obiorah stated that Nigeria’s inflation rate was 22.8% and that the IMF anticipated a growth moderation of 3.2% in 2023 for the nation.

“Now, when you get to Africa and the neighboring country of Ghana, you’ll see that the inflation rate there is currently 42.5%. In Ethiopia and Egypt, it is 31% and 36% respectively.

“So, we are at 22.8% in our beloved nation. These numbers show that we’re not doing as badly, but the economic growth process itself has also been impacted by all of this. The IMF today reduced growth estimates from 3.5 percent to three percent for this year and three percent for the following year.

He continued, “They expect growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to slow from 4.1% last year to 3.5% this year, but to pick back up to just over 4% next year. They anticipate that we will achieve 3.2% this year in Nigeria.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and a shift in the emphasis from goods to services were also mentioned by Obiorah as important factors.

We are aware that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is having a significant impact because both nations are significant exporters of commodities. 30% of global sunflower exports are accounted for by the two of them. Therefore, you are aware of what will happen to food prices globally when such a region is at war.

We are also aware of the shift in demand from goods to services, which are typically more expensive. As well as the disruption caused by China’s zero COVID policy and frequent power outages, he added that the switch from coal to more renewable sources of energy had decreased the value of power.

According to the economic policy expert, China’s high rate of investment in real estate services has also caused supply chain disruptions.

In China, the real estate market is currently experiencing some correction. Many Chinese people don’t have the same types of investment vehicles that, say, the average American does.

They invested a lot of their savings in real estate. But as a result, there is currently an oversupply of real estate in China. China has 65 million unoccupied apartments.

The remainder of France’s population could be taken, he continued. So, there are disruptions in the supply chain as a result of that correction.

In the ten years between 2001 and 2011, Nigeria’s non-oil exports to GDP ratio was 0.8%, he said. You can probably guess that from 2012 to 2022, we remained at 1.2%, indicating an increase of 0.4% over that period of time.

“We must expand much more rapidly. Smaller nations are doing much better than us, he urged.

Using the ratio of their non-oil exports to GDP, Obiorah also contrasted the land area of some nations with that of Nigeria.

He stated, “The Netherlands has 34,000 square kilometers of land.

“Therefore, if you include water, you reach 42,000. It may interest you to know that 29% of the Netherlands’ GDP is derived from non-oil exports. They export goods other than oil worth $108 billion on average.

The Netherlands is actually the same size as Niger State, so keep that in mind. I’ll use another illustration. Ireland, a nation of just 70,000 square kilometers, regularly exports non-oil goods worth $170 billion, which helps us do better.