Maize flour prices have hit a record high as Kenya’s August 2022 inflation closed at 8.5 per cent.
This is the highest point in 63 months and also the highest price increase reported by Maize flour suppliers which increased up to 37.9 per cent.
The second highest increase in commodities used by a majority of Kenyans was Kerosene which hit a 30.5 per cent change.
Customers queueing at a supermarket in Kenya
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Kenya’s inflation remained elevated at a five-year high in August on soaring food and fuel prices despite subsidy programmes on the staple commodities, the statistics agency reported on Wednesday.
Data on the monthly inflation data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicated that the rate of inflation remained much highers than the government’s target of 2.5 to 7.5 per cent.
“The rise in inflation was mainly due to an increase in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic beverages (15.3 per cent), transport (7.6 per cent) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (5.6 per cent) between August 2021 and August 2022, ” Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
This is the third month in a row that the cost of living measure crossed the 7.5 per cent limit.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.4 per cent from an index of 125.05 in July 2022 to 125.58 in August 2022.
CPI measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households.
The month-to-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increased by 0.5 per cent between July 2022 and August 2022.
Prices of maize flour- loose, sugar and mangoes increased by 4.7, 4.6 and 4.1 per cent in August 2022, respectively.
A kilo of maize flour retailed at Ksh78.4 during the month while a kilo of sugar retailed at Ksh135.18.
The prices of carrots and onions dropped by 6.4 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
Alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and narcotics Index increased by 0.7 per cent between July 2022 and August 2022.
“This was mainly due to an increase in prices of beer (lagers and stouts) and wines which increased by 1.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively,” KNBS explained.
Kenyans shop inside a supermarket in Nairobi in March 2020
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