(Business in Cameroon) - In its recent note on the change in the consumer prices in Cameroon, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) listed the factors that should influence inflation in Cameroon in 2020.

According to the INS, the collapse in oil prices is likely to cause a decline in the production costs of imported products. This will nevertheless not be enough to keep inflation below 3.0%, the Community benchmark.

The INS indicates that this target would be met only with the quick ending of the pandemic, "the uninterrupted supply of the Cameroonian market with consumer goods via some land, air, and water transport services, the improvement of the security situation in crisis regions and the absence of other internal or external shocks."

In the meantime, the INS reports, the possible impacts of the coronavirus on prices will be measured from April 2020. The reason, it explains, is that around that period, the restrictive measures caused "panic buying." Also, some measures (such as the closure of national borders) issued around that time could have disrupted the supply chain of some goods and created a shortage, ultimately leading to higher prices. 

Nevertheless, the Institute notes that while awaiting the results of the socio-economic impact studies of Covid-19 in Cameroon, the government also took, in April, several measures to mitigate the impact of the health crisis on the economy. "Thanks to the budgetary support measures that have been deployed and will probably be completed, the local supply of goods and services should recover," the INS concludes.

S.A.