Kenya inflation hits 4.5% as holiday travel, food prices rise
The increase marked a jump from 4.1 per cent in July and the sharpest rise since June 2024 when inflation hit 6.2 per cent, largely influenced by short-term food crop prices.
Inflation in Kenya surged to 4.5 per cent in August, the highest in 14 months, driven by rising food and transport costs, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has reported.
The increase marked a jump from 4.1 per cent in July and the sharpest rise since June 2024 when inflation hit 6.2 per cent, largely influenced by short-term food crop prices.
KNBS’ August Consumer Price Index (CPI) data highlights steep increases in staple foods, with tomatoes rising 38.3 per cent, carrots 24.3 per cent, fortified maize flour 18.7 per cent, and mangoes 18.1 per cent compared to August 2024.
Other essential items contributing to inflation included Sukuma Wiki (17 per cent), cabbages (14.9 per cent), loose maize flour (13.4 per cent), and matatu fares (15.4 per cent).
“The price increase was primarily driven by a rise in prices of items in the food and non-alcoholic beverages (8.3 per cent), transport (4.4 per cent), and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (0.8 per cent) over the one-year period,” KNBS said.
Transport costs saw a notable rise in August, with bus fares from Mombasa to Nairobi jumping from Sh1,300 to Sh1,500, representing the month’s highest increase.
KNBS linked the surge to increased travel during the August school holidays.
“In contrast, passenger transport costs rose sharply, with the country bus/matatu fare for the Mombasa to Nairobi route increasing from Sh1,300.00 to Sh1,500,” the Bureau said.
Other food items also recorded significant monthly price increases.
Cabbage rose 6.3 per cent, carrots 2.4 per cent, Sukuma Wiki 1.9 per cent, mangoes 1.8 per cent, and tomatoes 1.2 per cent.
This happened despite July’s rains extending into August, and at a time when families were spending on holiday activities.
While food and transport costs pushed inflation higher, energy prices provided some relief. KNBS noted a decline in electricity costs, with 50kWh dropping from Sh1,288.82 in July to Sh1,259.65 in August, and 200kWh falling from Sh5,656.22 to Sh5,539.54 over the same period.
Fuel prices also eased slightly after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) reduced petrol prices by Sh1, bringing the litre price down to Sh186.37 from Sh187.37.
Overall, the Bureau observed that food, transport, and energy together accounted for over 57 per cent of the total weight across the country’s 13 major expenditure categories, underscoring their heavy influence on the overall inflation rate.
