Government and Policy

KNBS Lists 17 Items That Have Become More Expensive For Kenyan Consumers

BY Getrude Mathayo · October 30, 2026 04:10 pm

Kenyans are paying more for everyday items, from milk and cooking oil to potatoes, cabbages and fuel, after annual inflation climbed to 7.3 percent in October 2026. Data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Friday, October 30, shows the rate up from 6.8 percent in September.

The bureau attributed the rise mainly to costlier food, transport and household energy. A 500 ml packet of milk now averages Ksh64.13, up from Ksh61.23 last month. Fresh milk went from Ksh77.54 to Ksh80.58 a litre, and cooking oil edged up from Ksh359.36 to Ksh361.04 a litre.

Vegetables and staples followed the same path. Irish potatoes moved from Ksh121.98 to Ksh125.06 a kilo, and cabbages from Ksh79.16 to Ksh82.38.

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Beef with bones climbed from Ksh782.68 to Ksh789.29 a kilo. A 2 kg packet of wheat flour now costs Ksh184.88 instead of Ksh181.11, while beans rose from Ksh182.76 to Ksh185.75 a kilo.

Sugar was the exception, it slipped from Ksh165.79 to Ksh163.84 a kilo, a small break for households.

Fuel recorded some of the steepest jumps. Petrol now averages Ksh227.85 a litre, up from Ksh214.95, and diesel rose from Ksh219.04 to Ksh228.77. Kerosene shot up 14.7 percent, from Ksh192.56 to Ksh220.88 a litre.

According to KNBS, the matatu fare from Westlands to Kangemi in Nairobi went from Ksh40 to Ksh50.

A 13 kg cooking gas cylinder rose slightly, from Ksh3,419.24 to Ksh3,429.61, while the cost of 200 units of electricity dipped from Ksh5,533.76 to Ksh5,529.66.

“The price increase was primarily driven by a rise in prices of items in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (10.2%); Transport (17.1%); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels (3.7%) over the one-year period,” KNBS said in its report.

Transport posted the biggest annual increase at 17.1 percent, with food and non-alcoholic beverages next at 10.2 percent. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 3.7 percent. Together, the three categories make up more than 57 per cent of the household expenditure weight.

Inflation has been creeping up for most of the year. It stood at 4.3 per cent in February, rose to 5.6 per cent in April and hit 6.7 percent in May. It eased to 6.4 per cent in June, then resumed climbing: 6.5 percent in July, 6.6 per cent in August and 6.8 per cent in September, before reaching 7.3 percent in October.

That leaves it just 0.2 percentage points short of the Central Bank of Kenya’s upper target limit of 7.5 percent.

KNBS also reported that core inflation rose from 4.0 per cent in September to 4.3 percent in October, while non-core inflation went from 14.0 per cent to 15.1 percent.