Zambia’s annual inflation eased to an 11-month low in May as improved rains helped cool food price rises of corn grain and vegetables.

Consumer prices rose 15.3% compared with 16.5% in April, Chief Statistician Chola Daka told reporters on Thursday in Lusaka, the capital.

The southern African nation is recovering from its worst drought in more than a 100 years. Corn output is expected to more than double to a record 3.66-million tons in 2025 from a year earlier, helping to ease pressure on food prices.

Food inflation, which began decelerating for the first time in more than a year in March, slowed to 17.9% in May compared with 18.7% a month earlier.

Prices for a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast corn meal, used to make Zambia’s staple food, nshima, a thick porridge that’s eaten at most meals, fell 4% to 344.41 kwacha ($13) in May from a month earlier. Food and nonalcoholic beverages account for more than half of the country’s inflation basket. Non-food inflation slowed to 11.6% from 13.4% in April, in part due to a drop in the prices of diesel and gasoline. Prices rose 0.3% in the month.

The Bank of Zambia last week held its key interest rate at 14.5%, citing its forecast that inflation will continue to moderate.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said earlier this week that inflation may return to single digits this year.

“I think we’ll see inflation quickly dropping,” he said. “This has been a very positive year and this will play itself out in the rest of the year.