The Rising Cost Of Living In Kenya; Chocking Commodity Prices

The cost of living in Kenya has gone through the roof. Virtually everyone is wailing; both the rich and the poor. As things stand in this country, we shall soon have tens of rich human beings and millions of the extremely poor. Time for the rich to eat the poor?

As things stand right now, one owes employees’ salaries, when he is owed by clients, when clients are owed by other bigger clients who are owed by the National Treasury. It is becoming common to have an accumulated pyramid of debts with no cash.

Read More: Maize Price Hits Ksh 110 For A 2Kg Tin In Bungoma

The latest commodity to hit Kenyans hard and brought everything to a standstill was fuel. There is an acute artificial fuel shortage in Kenya. Oil marketers have refused to release fuel to retailers after the National Treasury failed to honor the subsidy promise.

The price of fuel around the country is at the highest in history. The government promised that “normal flow” will be restored this Thursday, but who still believes the government? A liter of Super Petrol in some places in Kisii hit 300 shillings, 250 shillings in Bungoma, and 150 shillings in parts of Nairobi and Mombasa.

Read More: Normal Fuel Supply to Be Restored Beginning Thursday

The second product that has kept Kenyans on their toes for months now is cooking oil. Can you imagine that a liter of cooking oil in Kenya is twice that of Super Petrol? A liter of salad is now going for between 350 and 400 shillings depending on where one chooses to buy it.

According to palm oil manufacturers, the raw material prices shot to between 200,543 shillings per metric ton and 225,522 shillings after the escalation of the war in march 2022.

Before the war, the commodity retailed at 168,578 shillings per ton. This was more than double its cost before the onset of the Covid – 19 pandemic in March 2020.

Another commodity that has shocked Kenyans by disappearing from the shelves using the same magic as KEMSA funds is milk. There is no UHT milk on our shelves and the government cannot explain why the country does not have milk. Maybe Kenyan cows are standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine to protest against Russia.

Kenyans are now not being allowed to buy more than one packet or carton of UHT milk from Supermarkets. The price has gone up by more than 20 percent in less than a month. The government is now thinking of importing milk from India and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read More: Commodity Prices Still Rising With 1L Cooking Oil Costing Twice as Much as Petrol

The price of sugar has increased by 56 percent in just five years and the price of cooking gas by 167 percent from 600 shillings to 1600? The price of maize flour (2 kilograms) has increased by 80 percent from 90 shillings to 160 shillings and the price of wheat flour up by 70 percent from 100 shillings to 170 shillings.

The price of fertilizer has gone 180 percent from 2500 shillings to 7000 shillings. Forget about the subsidy innuendos for no small farmer will benefit. How about bread? Up by 40 percent from 40 shillings to 60 shillings.

Here is a list of some 20 basic products whose price is beyond comprehension: