KENYA – Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed a 3.3 percent increase in the cost of a 2-kilogram packet of wheat flour in November 2023 while the price of a similar amount of sifted maize flour fell by 6.5 percent during the same period.

By using the above statistics as a basis, a 2-kilogram packet of wheat flour, at Naivas supermarket for example, retailed from between KES.169 and KES.213 in November while an equivalent amount of maize meal sold for KES.155 to KES.235 depending on the maize flour brand, KNBS noted.

The KNBS report comes after recently, the agriculture CS Mithika Linturi promised Kenyans that they would celebrate the festive season with cheaper maize meal, attributing it to enhanced yields from the farms.

The CS spoke during a random shopping trip to monitor the price of maize meal at select supermarkets in Nairobi.

 “The government’s interventions that target to subsidize production are paying off gradually and we expect the prices of Unga to come down further in the coming weeks as we head towards Christmas,” the CS said.

Linturi added that food security is a key priority of the Kenya Kwanza government.  According to him, the current administration is already working closely with farmers on measures to increase agricultural yields to consolidate the food security agenda in the country.

According to KNBS Director General Macdonald Obudho, the overall year-on-year inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 6.8 percent, in November,

He highlighted that the results were  mainly driven by increases in prices of commodities under Transport (13.6%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels (8.5%); and Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (7.6%) between November 2022 and November 2023.

The price of a kilogram of tomatoes and oranges likewise jumped by 17.7 and 3.8 percent respectively in the period while the cost of a kilogram of carrots increased by 2.7 percent compared to the previous month.

Similarly, the cost of a kilogram of onions and beef with bones saw an uptick of 1.1 percent and 1.9 percent respectively in the review period.

Moreover, the prices of a kilogram of sukuma wiki, loose maize grain, cabbages and potatoes surged by 2.4 percent, 3.3 percent, 3.6 percent and 7.1 percent in November 2023.