The World Bank and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in collaboration with Delta State Government, have trained statisticians in the state on knowledge and the latest trends in accurate compilation of the consumer price index (CPI).

The workshop is to provide accurate information for the state government, households and organisations to make informed decisions on matters relating to price levels and changes in prices.

The State Director of Statistics, Nkechi Maduemezia, on Monday in Asaba, said that the three-day workshop was also to consider the rebasing of the price reference period to bring it closer to the current realities.

Ms Maduemezia, while welcoming the participants, said the workshop was specially organised to train the statisticians on global best practices and the latest trends in CPI compilation.

According to her, the CPI produces estimates that reflect the current inflationary pressure and consumption pattern of people in the country.

She commended the World Bank and NBS for the initiative, adding that 25 participants took part in the training.

One of the resource persons, Nkem Musa, stated that the essence of the workshop was to ensure harmonisation of the CPI concept. 

She reiterated that the “CPI is used notably to track inflation, compute inflation rate, make socio-economic and monetary policies, track prices, adjust wages and salaries and get needed information to formulate price stabilisation policies.’’

The participants were also trained on the latest Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP), how to conduct the household expenditure survey before coming up with the CPI basket and others.

(NAN)