Potatoes and beans are among food items whose prices skyrocketed in the month of April, a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released on Friday, April 28, revealed.
In its inflation data for April, prices of a kilogram of potatoes recorded an increase of 7.2 per cent while a similar quantity of beans shot up by 5.5 per cent.
The prices of mangoes, onion and sugar also shot up in that period at a percentage of 2.2, 1.9 and 1.6 respectively.
On the other hand, Kenyans had to dig deep into their pocket when buying meat whose price changed by 1.2 per cent in comparison to its prices in March.
Apart from basic food items, electricity recorded the highest increase of 18.7 per cent owing to the review done by Kenya Power - which increased the cost of power by 63 per cent.
Kenyans living in two-bedroom houses also had to pay more by 0.2 per cent.
"Overall year-on-year (annual) inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 7.9 per cent, in April 2023; a decrease from an inflation rate of 9.2 per cent recorded in March 2023.
"The monthly inflation rate for April 2023 was 0.5 per cent," read the statement in part.
Items Whose Prices Dropped
Despite a number of food items whose prices increased, five basic commodities registered a drop with vegetables dominating the list.
They include spinach, kales, tomatoes and cabbages.
500 grams of cooking fat, on the other hand, was reported to have dropped by 2.1 per cent.
Notably, the five commodities have steadily been dropping in the year as a consequence of the harvest done in March and the expected harvest in the coming months.
