Prolonged dry spell pushes up cost of foodstuff

The cost of living index increased by 6.58 per cent in April, the highest in 14 months as a prolonged dry spell depressed harvests and pushed up prices of foodstuff.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 8.17 per cent, year-on-year, with basic commodities such as sukuma wiki, potatoes, maize grain and flour getting costlier for ordinary Kenyans.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, in its latest monthly report on the increase in price of consumer products, indicated that poor rains also affected the cost of electricity, as producers shifted to expensive thermal power.

A kilogramme of Irish potatoes, popular for preparation of fries, increased by 45 per cent to an average of Sh97.89 from Sh67.33 in April last year, while the same quantity of sukuma wiki retailed at Sh66.40, an increase of 20.4 per cent.

Other foodstuff that shot up as Kenyans waited for the rains include cabbages, for which consumers paid Sh46.59 a kilo compared to Sh42.21 in the same month in 2017.

Price of a kilo of spinach increased by an average of 7.7 per cent to retail at Sh70.54.

The six items, according to the national statistician, account for 6.25 per cent of the Consumer Price Index, also known as cost of living index.

Generally, food and non-alcoholic drinks take up more than 40 per cent of poor Kenyans’ earnings, which means increased prices of food tend to raise poverty and inequality.