The acting Directing of PNG’s National Research Institute, Associate Professor Eugene Ezebilo has urged the PNG Government, through the National Statistical Office, to address concerns raised on the recent inflation figures for PNG. “In Papua New Guinea (PNG), inflation has become a great concern because it directly reduces the value of the Kina.” “During high inflation, people buy less goods and services or need more Kina to buy the same amount of goods and services.” “The loss in the value of Kina negatively impacts the cost of living, the welfare of the people, and the cost of doing business.” Professor Ezebilo said the recent NRI paper titled “Are the recent inflation figures for Papua New Guinea reflecting the changes in prices of goods and services?" by Dr Thomas Wangi, provides a highlight into the recent general increase in the prices of goods and services (inflation) figures in PNG. (See separate story on PNGHAUSBUNG) “In recent years (2020-2023), domestic inflation numbers were generally lower than expected.” “Some quarters such as September 2020, December 2022, and March 2023 officially recorded negative price changes, indicating falls in inflation.” “These inflation figures have been a concern because inflation pressure was high, and people were struggling to afford the high cost of living during those times.” “Inflation in PNG has been caused mainly by the coronavirus outbreak and war in Ukraine.” “To improve the reliability of the inflation figures, it is important for NSO to review its data collection and recording procedure to address potential technical and human errors, review the sampling procedure to expand the sample size, and conduct a new household income and expenditure survey to update the weights of the indicator items.” Prof. Eugene Ezebilo is the Deputy Director for Research at the PNG National Research Institute. Before his appointment, he was the Program Leader for the Property Sector Development Research Program and the Staff Representative to the PNG NRI Council, which he was nominated to that post in March 2017.