Geoffrey Irungu
3 August 2005
Nairobi — The prices of key food crops have fallen after the harvesting season set in in various parts of the country.
The inflation index for food and non-alcoholic drinks showed a decline for July.
Although the prices of tobacco and alcohol remained unchanged, those of shoes, clothes, fuel and electricity dropped.
There were marginal increases in the price of houses, household goods and services, medical goods and services, recreation and education goods.
The food and non-alcoholic drink index decreased by 1.4 per cent in July as the prices of milk, sugar, English potatoes, tomatoes and onions dropped.
On average, a kilogramme of sugar was retailing at Sh69 in July compared to Sh73 in June, showing a decline of 5.2 per cent.
A half-litre packet of milk was sold for Sh26.90 in June and Sh25.60 in July.
The cost of electricity decreased due to lower fuel and foreign exchange adjustment costs and this caused the fuel and power index to drop by 0.2 per cent.
Medical goods and services index rose by 0.7 per cent in July as a result of the rise in prices of some selected drugs.
Most of the other items in the consumer price index remained relatively stable in July compared to June, said the director of statistics, Mr A.K.M. Kilele, in a statement released yesterday.
According to the latest Central Bank of Kenya Monthly Economic Review, the overall 12-month inflation declined from 16.02 per cent in April to 14.78 per cent in May.
"The inflationary pressure is coming down," the CBK said.
Before the recent development, overall inflation had been on a rising trend since the last quarter of 2004 due to the rise in food prices. Rains delayed until the first quarter of 2005.
But oil prices have remained consistently high in the international market, resulting in higher pump prices in the domestic economy.
The high oil prices also implied higher transport costs and higher costs for commodities whose production relied on oil as an input. But this pressure also appears to be ebbing.
There were demand pressures arising from huge increases in wages, especially in the public sector for teachers, nurses, the police, MPs, the Judiciary and other public officers.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
