Onions, tomatoes, and oranges are among the commodities whose prices hiked in April, a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed.
As per the report released on Tuesday, April 30, the prices of onions hiked by 5.8%, while those of tomatoes and oranges rose by 4.3% and 4.0% respectively.
At the same time, the prices of potatoes and cooking gas also increased by 1.3% and 0.3% respectively as compared to the prices in March.
On the other hand, commodities including maize flour, maize, avocado and sugar dropped to ease the pressure of inflation on consumers.
According to KNBS, the prices of a 2Kg of sifted maize flour dropped by 2.3%, while that of avocado dropped by 8.3% compared to the prices in March.
In addition, the price of avocado dropped by 2.4% while that of cooking oil dropped by 1.2%.
Other commodities whose prices fell in April include that of electricity with the report showing that the price of 50 kilowatts reduced by 6.4%, Petrol (2.7%), Diesel (5.2%), and Kerosene (9.7%).
Compared to April 2023, the prices of onions continued to hike, with the report showing that the prices of the vegetable increased by 71.4% between April 0f 2023 and April 2024.
Consumer Price Index falls to 5% in KNBS
In addition, KNBS indicated that the overall year on year inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5.0 per cent, in April 2024 which was a drop compared to last month’s CPI which stood at 5.7%.
Also Read: List of Commodities Whose Prices Dropped, Increased in March
This, according to KNBS, means that the general price level in April 2024 was 5.0 per cent higher than that of April 2023.
The price increase, the report adds, was mainly driven by a rise in prices of commodities between April 2023 and April 2024 under Transport (9.2%); Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (5.6%); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels (3.8%).
These three divisions account for over 57 per cent of the weights of the 13 broad categories.
Also Read: Kenya’s Inflation Rate Hits a Record Low in 12 Months
According to KNBS, the CPI and inflation is generated from data collected through monthly surveys of retail prices that target a representative basket of household consumption goods and services.
The data collection is conducted in the second and third weeks of the month from a representative sample of outlets located in 50 data collection zones across the country.
CPI is a key macroeconomic indicator used to monitor price movements and how they affect policy decisions. It is defined as a measure of the weighted aggregate change in retail prices paid by consumers for a given basket of goods and services.
Out of the 50 data collection zones, 14 are located in Nairobi City County while 36 are located in other urban areas. Nairobi zones cover outlets in lower income, middle income and upper income areas.
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