The price of major food commodities is expected to start increasing until August as the country gets into the cropping calendar.
Cropping in many regions occurs during the long rainy season of March-April-May.
Timothy Njagi, senior researcher at the Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy & Development, said prices are likely to go up in the coming six months because of the cycle.
The researcher noted that prices of maize are currently low as the produce from Uganda has started coming into the country.
Farmers in many areas are getting into preparing their land for planting.
“During this long rainy season, most of the crops will be under production until August harvesting starts. This means prices of various food commodities are likely to go up due to low supply,” Njagi said.
On February 21, during a Cabinet meeting in Naivasha, President William Ruto said the government is on course to reduce the cost of food.
His government is keen on reducing importation of food by 50 per cent.
Ruto said the government spends Sh500 billion every year to import food items such as sugar, wheat, rice, maize and edible oils.
This is despite the fact that the food products can be produced locally.
"We want to reduce imports by 50 per cent in five years and by 100 per cent in 10 years. If we continue importing, we need to ensure we export to cover for the deficit. The only way the Sh500 billion we spend on food will go down is through production in Kenya,” Ruto said.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that a 90kg bag of dry maize on the wholesale market is selling for Sh4,000 to Sh5,800, while a kilo of green maize is selling for Sh20 to Sh50.
A 50kg bag of rice is wholesaling at Sh7,000 to Sh10,000, a 50kg bag of Irish potatoes is selling for Sh2,100 to Sh3,000.
Onions prices are still high with a kilo retailing at about Sh140 in some places.
A 13kg bag of dry onions is wholesaling at Sh910 to Sh2,500 in some regions.
Njagi attributed the high cost of onions to low production while demand remains high.
A 50kg bag of sukuma wiki is wholesaling for Sh750 to Sh2,000 and a kilo of spinach is going for Sh20 to Sh70.
Production of tomatoes has, however increased. The researcher said this is because many farmers rushed to grow the commodity when the country was faced with a shortage.
A crate of tomatoes is wholesaling for Sh3,800 to ShSh6,400.
A spot check in supermarkets in Nairobi showed the price of a two-kilo packet of maize meal has decreased from an average of Sh180 two months ago to between Sh130 to Sh160 for the common brands.
A 2kg packet of sugar is selling at Sh399 and the same quantity of rice is retailing for Sh380 to Sh600.
Two litres of cooking oil sells for Sh600 to Sh1,000, three litres for Sh1,050 to Sh1,260 while a five litres is retailing for Sh1,400 to Sh2,500.
A 500ml packet of milk sells for Sh55 to Sh60, depending on the brand.
The standard 400 grams of bread is going for Sh65 while 600 grams selling for Sh110.
