Food inflation hits six-month high on costly festive season

A vegetable vendor in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By CHARLES MWANIKI
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Summary

• Latest cost of living data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the year-on-year rise in cost of food stood at 7.2 per cent last month, the highest since June 2020.
• Although the cost of food has been rising since September, the biggest month-on-month jump in the second half of the year was between November and December (6.1 per cent to 7.2 per cent).

Higher vegetable and wheat flour prices in during the festive season pushed food inflation in the country to its highest level in six months in December.

Latest cost of living data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the year-on-year rise in cost of food stood at 7.2 per cent last month, the highest since June 2020.

Although the cost of food has been rising since September, the biggest month-on-month jump in the second half of the year was between November and December (6.1 per cent to 7.2 per cent).

“This food inflation was mainly attributed to increase in prices of particular food items, which outweighed the decreases,” said the KNBS in its December inflation report.

“For instance, retail prices of loose maize flour and capsicums (pilipili hoho) declined by 1.28 per cent and 8.91 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, prices of spinach, oranges and kale (sukuma wiki) rose by 8.09, 6.18 and 5.61 per cent, respectively.”

The price of wheat flour also rose in December by 4.75 per cent compared to November, to retail at an average of Sh124 for a two kilogramme packet.

Wheat flour is a staple of many homes during the Christmas period.

Millers attributed the increase in wheat flour price to a 32 per cent increase in the price of wheat in the international market since January.

The price of a tonne of wheat went up from $525 in July to $575 in December, impacting on local prices as Kenya, which is a wheat deficit country, relies on imports to close the domestic supply gap.

Other food items that recorded a price increase during the month included meat, carrots, Irish potatoes, cabbages and onions.

The higher cost of food was the main driver in the rise in overall rise in inflation to 5.62 per cent last month from 5.33 per cent in November. Fuel inflation, which was the main driver of overall inflation in the third quarter of the year, eased in quarter four, dropping to 11.3 per cent in December from 12.1 per cent in October.