NAIROBI, Kenya:July 4 (Xinhua) — Prices of various food items in Kenya have dropped recently easing pressure on consumers who have been grappling with the high cost of living.
Prices of tomatoes, vegetables, potatoes, fruits and onions have declined as supply steadies after the long-rains season, which ended in May.
Food inflation is a key contributor of Kenya’s overall inflation that rose to a record 19 percent in January, but has declined to 10 percent in June, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Then, prices of various food items mainly vegetables and onions, jumped by up to 45 percent, with a head of cabbage retailing at an average of 0.96 U.S dollars. Analysts attributed the situation on a dry spell that had hit the East African nation affecting food production.
KNBS in its monthly consumer price indices and inflation rates report released last week noted that inflation has eased to 10 percent partly because of drop in food prices. The institution observed that food index has decreased by about 2 percent in the past two months.
“Food and non-alcoholic drinks’ index decreased by 1.91 percent between May and June. This was mainly due to fall in prices of various food items such as milk, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, onions, oranges and sukuma wiki,” said KNBS.
In the capital Nairobi, a bunch of sukuma wiki (kales), the most popular vegetable in the East Africa nation, is retailing in groceries at an average of 0.18 dollars, down from 0.40 dollars two months ago.
Similarly, a medium-sized head of cabbage, vegetable that is also largely consumed by many families is retailing at an average of 0.35 dollars. The price drops to up to 0.15 dollars in source markets. It is a similar situation for onions and tomatoes.
A survey in most suburbs in Nairobi indicated that an onion is retailing at 0. 02 dollars, down from 0.07 dollars few months ago. On the other hand, a tomato is going for between 0.03 dollars and 0.05 dollars, depending on the size, down from 0.09 dollars months ago.
The drop in retail prices of the basic food items is mainly because of decline in wholesale prices. A 70kg bag of kales in wholesale markets is going for an average of 21 dollars in the capital. The price, however, is lower in other urban centres in Kenya like Eldoret and Kisumu, where the same bag goes for 11 dollars and 17 dollars respectively.
Similarly, a 15kg bag of dry onions in Nairobi is retailing at 11 dollars, down from 16 dollars some months ago. The price falls to up to 9.5 dollars in other cities in Kenya for instance Mombasa. For tomatoes, a large box is going at an average of 50 dollars in most wholesale markets, down from 60 dollars in April.
Other food items whose prices have dropped include carrots, eggs and Irish potatoes. The items are going for 50 dollars (90kg bag), 3.5 dollars (a crate) and 23 dollars (130kg bag) respectively. Prices of fruits, mainly oranges and mangoes, have also dropped due to increased supply from source markets.
A 93kg bag of oranges is currently going for an average of 23 dollars in most towns in the East African nation, down from 35 dollars a few months ago. Similarly, a 25kg bag of mangoes is being sold at 9.5 dollars in wholesale markets, down from 15 dollars.
“Supply of most food items has steadied in wholesale markets, that is why prices are decreasing,” Grace Mutuku, who runs a grocery in Komarock, a middle-income residential area in Nairobi said on Wednesday.
Mutuku buys her supplies from Gikomba wholesale market, on the outskirts of Nairobi central business district.
She observed that she no longer needs to go to the market very early in the morning as she used when prices were high.
“Then, I used to go very early so that I can at least get the best bargains but things have changed for the better in the past two months. Now, we buy various items we want affordably,” she said.
The trader indicated that she has passed the gains in price drops to her customers.
“I now sell a bunch of sukuma wiki at 0.23 dollars. The same bunch was going for double that amount in April, ” she said.
Mutuku observed that drop in prices is a big relief for both consumers and traders.
“People always believe that traders benefit when prices are high but that is not the case. This is because high prices reduce peoples’ purchasing power therefore most traders experience low sales, which means less profit,” she said.
Bernard Kiundi, a father of five living in Nairobi, noted the drop in prices of various food items has lowered his budget. “
At least I can save some money on tomatoes, onions and kales and pass the same to maize flour, bread and rice, whose prices are still high,” he said. (Xinhua)
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