A sharp rise in prices of essential commodities over the past few months, coupled with the burden of a steep hike in fuel rates, have made life difficult for almost every section of society across the country.
Many people now find it challenging to manage their household budget.
While the prices of vegetables and several other food items have gone through the roof, the petrol and diesel rates have increased by about 5 shillings per litre each in the past month.
The prices of other petroleum products, including cooking gas, have witnessed a hefty rise in the past few months, adding to the people’s woes.
You have to shop according to your budget. And your budget has to be according to your pocket. Check out through the shopping outlets online, or you could physically go for window shopping to determine where your pocket fits.
Here are different commodities and their prices across Carrefour, Naivas, and Cleanshelf
Food Cupboard
| Commodity | Cleanshelf | Naivas | Carrefour |
| Fresh Fri Cooking Oil (3L) | 1,150 | 1,176 | 1164 |
| Kabras Sugar (2kg) | 260 | 245 | 245 |
| Soko Sifted Maize Flour (2Kg) | 146 | 146 | 126 |
| Ex All Purpose Flour | 175 | 176 | 176 |
| Tuzo Fresh Milk (500Ml) | 62 | 62 | 62 |
| Festive Whole meal Bread (400g) | 55 | 55 | 54 |
| Pearl Rice Pishori (5Kg) | 1369 | 1369 | 1,220 |
| Salt (1Kg) | 34 | 32 | 30 |
| Total Expenditure | 3251 | 3261 | 2,977 |
Laundry and Detergents
Aerial Detergent Powder is retailing highest at Naivas Supermarket at 316 shillings for 1kg and 630 shillings for 2Kg. The same product retails at 284 and 299 shillings per kilogram at Carrefour and CleanShelf, respectively.
The table below summaries some of the laundry products and their prices
| Product | Cleanshelf | Naivas | Carrefour |
| Menengai Cream Bar Soap 800g | 180 | 200 | 200 |
| Toss Detergent Powder 1KG | 265 | 305 | 309 |
| Harpic Power Plus Original 1L | 620 | 680 | 650 |
| Dettol Antibacterial Soap Herbal (175g) | 220 | 220 | 220 |
| Downy Fabric Softener (880Ml) | 599 | 599 | 649 |
| Total Expenditure | 1,844 | 2,004 | 2,028 |
Baby Products
The cost of baby products such as pampers has more than doubled and increased across major supermarket shelves.
| Product | Cleanshelf | Naivas | Carrefour |
| Nestle Nan 400g | 1485 | 1485 | 1350 |
| Pamper pants Maxi 56 Pcs | 1599 | 1599 | 1699 |
| Pampers Baby Wipes Fresh 64S | 280 | 280 | 290 |
| Cussons baby M&G Soap 100g | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| Velvex Cotton Wool 100g | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Valon Baby jelly 250g | 185 | 185 | 185 |
| Total Expenditure | 3714 | 3714 | 3689 |
Kenyans are going through a tough economic phase as they face numerous pressing problems that have come along with the rising cost of living. The ever-escalating food basket is forcing many to dig deep into their pockets to purchase common essential commodities. It might soon be survival for just a few who are fit.
The sharp increase in food prices coupled with the failure of the much-expected long rains forced Kenya’s inflation for April to 6.47 percent.