Annual food inflation inched up to 5.5% in October from 5.4% in September, largely due to higher meat prices.

According to data from Statistics Botswana, the meat price index climbed to 8% in October from 7.3% the previous month. Meat has the second-largest weighting in the food inflation basket.

The category with the highest weighting, bread and cereals, held steady at an annual rate of 3.9% in both September and October.

The agency’s data also indicates that coffee, tea and cocoa recorded the sharpest annual price increase, rising 13.5% in the year to October, Mmegi Online reports.

However, their influence on overall food inflation remained limited due to their relatively small weight in the index.

In addition, prices for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery saw the second-largest rise at 10.8%, followed by gains in unclassified food products and meat.

At the opposite end, vegetable prices dropped 9.7% over the year, while bread and cereals increased by 3.9% during the same period.

Food prices are projected to keep rising, as the impact of the exchange rate adjustments introduced in July continues to filter through the broader economy.

Furthermore, overall inflation quickened to 3.7% year-on-year in September, up from 1.4% in August, remaining within the central bank’s 3–6% target range.

However, this marks its highest level in over a year, according to Statistics Botswana.

Consequently, the Bank of Botswana now expects inflation to climb from an average of 2.7% this year to 5.9% in 2026, The Voice Botswana reports.

Although inflation is still within the Bank of Botswana’s medium-term target range, the recent uptick highlights how vulnerable price stability is to external shocks. Higher living costs risk reducing household purchasing power, especially for low-income families, and may dampen overall consumption growth.