The High Cost of Living

For several months now, Africa in general, and Côte d’Ivoire in particular, have been seeing prices rise often in several sectors of its economy.

A brief overview of the causes, consequences, and measures taken by the Ivorian government to combat the phenomenon of the high cost of living in Côte d’Ivoire (CI).

In general, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services and is characterized by a decrease in purchasing power.

The increase in the cost of living concerns a set of sectors of the Ivorian economy ranging from foodstuffs (wheat, livestock, fish, oil, food products) to manufactured products such as cement, fuel, or the cost of transport, essential to the daily life of the population.

While some causes are more the responsibility of the Ivorian government, others are less so and give rise to a lot of speculation because they are difficult for consumers to understand.

Low rainfall has led to a decrease in food production, creating a desynchronization between supply and demand.

The high cost of living is also explained by exceptional and crisis events that the Ivorian government must face and that are not of its own making, which include: the Covid-19 pandemic, the security context in the Sahel and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

How do global events affect the economic and social life of Ivorians so strongly?

The coronavirus epidemic, officially declared a pandemic due to its spread around the world, has led to the confinement of almost the entire world population.

In the Sahel, the security situation for several months now remains critical, as recently mentioned by the United Nations Sub-Secretary General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee. This political insecurity has disrupted the supply of food products (onion, tomato) but especially the supply of ovids which is carried out mainly by Mali and Burkina Faso.

According to Prime Minister Patrick Achi in a recent interview devoted to the high cost of living and broadcast on the national channel RTI 1 on July 11, 2022, the increase in the cost of living is also due to the recent Russian-Ukrainian war which caused the almost doubling of the price of oil internationally and the tripling of the price of fertilizer.

Fortunately, faced with this exceptional situation that affects almost all countries of the world, the Ivorian State through the head of government ensures that the issue of the high cost of living is at the heart of government action and that the government is doing its utmost to minimize the impact on the populations.

He also referred to the strong measures taken by the State to curb this phenomenon.

This is a subsidy of 400 billion CFA francs which has made it possible, among other things, to maintain the price of Super at 735 CFA francs and that of Diesel at 615 CFA francs and to provide a subsidy to millers; price caps on 21 consumer products consisting mainly of basic necessities (oil, sugar, milk, baking flour, etc.) and the subjection for authorization of the export of certain food stuffs produced and consumed locally: attiéké, yam, etc.

He also announced that the government plans to modernize Ivorian agriculture by 2025 with a particular focus on food. To this end, Patrick Achi is counting on the construction of 9 agropolises of which that of the center is already operational.

This policy aims by 2025 to achieve food sovereignty not only for food products but also for goods.