Vegetable prices have remained high on supply and production disruptions, even though overall inflation fell to a record 12-year low of 3.6 percent in September.
The price of vegetables, including onions, cabbages, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and sukuma wiki, rose by an average of 22.1 percent in September compared to the same time last year, although overall food inflation stood at just 5.1 percent, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
A kilogramme of Irish potatoes sold at an average of Sh133.57 in September, up from Sh101.77 in a same month last year, representing an increase of 31.2 percent, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) consumer price index.
The price of a kilogramme of cabbages and onions also increased by 39.5 percent and 7.6 percent to Sh78.33 and Sh162.62 respectively compared to last year.
Vegetable prices peaked in July with an average price change or inflation rate of 33.3 percent due to supply disruptions caused by prolonged heavy rainfall and flooding.
“Vegetable inflation peaked around July at 33.3 percent and the reason for the increase reflected the excess rains and floods that were experienced in April and May and which disrupted the supply of key vegetables including onions, tomatoes, and vegetables,” CBK Governor Kamau Thugge noted.
The prices of key vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and cabbages have eased only slightly since July following improved supply and higher domestic production, leaving underlying food cost pressures.
Changes in vegetable prices in September, for instance, accounted for more than three-quarters of the bump in food inflation or 88.2 percent, while the cost of non-vegetable items was up by 0.5 percent.
Vegetable prices are expected to remain high until the end of 2024, as moderate rains have reduced domestic production.
“Respondents in the September 2024 agriculture sector survey expect food prices to decline in October 2024, but some upward pressure is expected on select vegetable items due to seasonality factors,” Dr Thugge added.
Despite the high consumption of vegetables by households, the KNBS gives a higher weight to other food commodities, including milk, bread and beef.
These three food items are among the top 10 expenditure components by households, along with mobile phone airtime, matatu fares, house rent, hotel and restaurant meals and beer.
The cost of non-vegetable items such as sugar, wheat flour and milk has reduced in the past year in contrast, underpinning the overall drop in inflation.
A kilo of sugar, for instance, cost Sh153.80 on average last month, a 29.7 percent drop compared to Sh218.78 at the same time last year.
Meanwhile, a two-kilogramme packet of wheat flour cost Sh170.24 in September, a 10.4 percent drop from Sh191 a year earlier.
Kenyan households spend an average of Sh32.91 percent of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages.
