Kenyans Face Rising Costs for Food and Rent Despite Drop in Inflation

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released the latest inflation rates report, highlighting an upward trend in prices for cooking oil, cabbage, mangoes, and carrots as of July 2024.

Conversely, the report indicates a decrease in the prices of onions, tomatoes, maize grain, wheat flour, and sugar. For non-food items, the report shows that cooking gas and monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment have risen, while petrol, kerosene, diesel, and electricity have become cheaper.

The KNBS report reveals that between July 2023 and July 2024, the cost of one liter of cooking oil increased by 3.1%. Cabbages saw the highest price surge, with a 46.1% increase for 1 kg.

Other food items that experienced price hikes include onions (1 kg), which rose by 32.1%; tomatoes (1 kg), up by 28.7%; mangoes (1 kg), which increased by 20.5%; and carrots (1 kg), which went up by 18.7%.

Non-food items also saw price increases, with cooking gas/LPG (13 kg) rising by 15.5% and monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment increasing by 1.5%.

The overall year-on-year inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 4.3% in July 2024. This means that the cost of a basket of goods in July 2024 was 4.6% higher than in July 2023.

Additionally, July 2024 recorded a monthly inflation rate of -0.2% from 0.4% in June.

The report attributes the rise in annual inflation primarily to increases in the Transport Index, which rose by 4.0%, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels Index, up by 3.9%, and the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index, which increased by 5.6%.

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