Inflation: LCCI anticipates cost reduction strategies for businesses

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says it is anticipating that businesses will implement a variety of cost reduction strategies to lower operating expenses and maintain profitability amidst inflationary pressures.

Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General, LCCI, said this in a statement on Monday in reaction to the August inflation rate of 25.80 per cent.

The inflation rate, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), rose from 24.08 per cent in August, translating to a 1.72 per cent increase.

According to Almona, some of the strategies include downsizing and local sourcing of input factors to remain afloat.

She added that households’ real income would continue to experience decline, especially in the near term.

Almona said that the LCCI was concerned about the uptick in inflation (year-on-year) driven by increase in both the food and core components of the CPI.

She said that the slow pace of headline inflation month-on-month may be an indication that the path of price movements remains unclear in the near term.

“The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry recommends government to implement prudent fiscal policy measures.

“This is particularly in terms of borrowings as well as address the challenge of food inflation by immediately reducing and removing tax on basic food items to protect the most vulnerable.

“We implore the government to hasten the provision of the anticipated palliatives to lessen the impact of the rising trend in prices on economic agents.

“Furthermore, we urge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pause interest rate hikes to relieve the pressures on the supply side, especially at this time,” Amona said.