#LowerFoodPrices: Kenyans protest high cost of living

Kenyans took to social media over the weekend to protest the rising cost of food and groceries.

Under the hashtag, Lower Food Prices,  the netizens decried the increase in prices of basic food commodities such as sifted maize flour, bread, vegetables and fruits.

Some Kenyans who are feeling the pinch have expressed their frustrations, saying the fluctuations in food prices were hurting both consumers and producers.

Food inflation rose 8.89 per cent in January 2022 despite the decline in the overall rate of inflation, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) monthly Consumer Price Index.

A number of Kenyans have called for a reduction in food prices and the implementation of President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive on electricity tariffs, which will see a decline in electricity costs.

The KNBS review indicated that the CPI increased by 0.31 per cent from an index of 118.274 in December 2021 to 118.642 in January 2022.

The month-to-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increased by 1.07 per cent between December 2021 and January 2022.

"This was mainly attributed to the increase in prices of some food items, which outweighed the decrease in prices of others,” Kenya National Bureau of Statistics director-general Macdonald Obudho said.

Despite declining inflation rates in Kenya, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2022 World Economic Outlook forecasts tough times ahead for developing and emerging economies.

The lender warned that the steep rise in fuel and gas prices will push inflation to levels last witnessed during the global recession in 2008.

In its World Economic Outlook released last month, the lender said elevated inflation is expected to persist longer than envisioned in an earlier outlook released last October, with ongoing supply chain disruptions and high energy prices continuing in 2022. 

"The cost of living will be severe in the developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa on poor agricultural yields, high import cost due to weak currency and supply chain disruptions due to emerging Covid-19 variants," IMF said.