Food prices ease in favourable weather

 

 

The prices of major products rose by a slower rate this month at 5.47 per cent, compared to 5.62 per cent in April, the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.

It was a slight boost for consumers ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a number of them losing sources of income. The year-on-year drop in the cost of living was due to favourable weather and cheap fuel, owing to a huge drop in global crude prices.

As a result, the prices of basic food commodities dropped in comparison to a similar month last year.

Through the month, Kenyans paid less at the pump with a litre of diesel and petrol dropping by 24 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, compared to May last year.

However, the prices of food products such as onions (leeks and bulbs), carrots, oranges, spinach and sukuma wiki rose by 4.51 per cent, 3.32 per cent, 2.57 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively.

A kilogramme of onions retailed at an average of Sh123 countrywide, up from Sh118 a month earlier.

A good chunk of onions in local markets are imported from Tanzania, which Kenya engaged in a diplomatic row that temporarily culminated in both sides locking their borders.