The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Thursday listed electricity as one category of essential commodities whose prices increased in October 2024.
In its latest survey report, KNBS also listed several food items including mangoes, carrots, cooking oil, tomatoes, beef, and oranges among the commodities whose prices substantially rose in October compared to September.
According to the report, 200 and 50 kilowatts of electricity rose by 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. In contrast, prices of mangoes, carrots, oranges, and tomatoes rose by 9.9 per cent, 5.7 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.
Similarly, the Bureau also revealed that nine commodities saw a drop in prices in October. Among the items whose prices were reported to have declined include cooking gas and kale. Other commodities whose prices also dropped are wheat flour, fortified maize flour, sugar, diesel, petrol, and kerosene.
KNBS further disclosed that cooking gas, kerosene, petrol and diesel dropped by 0.4 per cent, 4.3 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively. Additionally, kale, wheat flour, maize flour and sugar prices declined 1.3 per cent, 1.7 per cent, 1.8 per cent and 2.3 per cent.
According to KNBS, the reduction in the price of the above commodities contributed to the decline in the inflation labels from 3.6 per cent in September to 2.7 per cent in October this year.
“Overall year-on-year (annual) inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.7 per cent, in October 2024; a decrease from an inflation rate of 3.6 per cent recorded in September 2024. The month-to-month inflation rate was 0.2 per cent in October 2024,” KNBS noted.
"The annual inflation was mainly due to movement in prices of commodities under the classifications of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions."
The announcement by KNBS came hardly a month after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) projected a rise in the prices of several commodities in October.
CBK's report published on October 11 revealed that prices of several food items including vegetables such as kale and spinach, maize flour, and wheat flour would increase in the coming weeks.
The reason for the projected increase in the prices of the above commodities was attributed to the upcoming short rains which were set to begin in mid-October to December this year. The survey revealed that the short rains would immensely hamper food production in the country.
Another reason for an increase in food prices was due to an increase in global oil prices triggered by the escalating Middle East conflict.
