Higher prices for cooking oil, beef, and bread have boosted food inflation to a 14-month high of 8.8%, putting a strain on household budgets already strained by rising energy costs.
According to 12-month inflation data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the cost of cooking oil has increased by 32 percent among the major food item categories between June 2020 and June 2021.
In that time, the price of beef (with bone) has increased by 23.6 percent, and the price of bread has increased by 20.1 percent.
“This is attributed to the increases in imported inputs, for instance, palm oil whose prices has gone up significantly, same case with wheat which has a huge import component,” said CBK governor Patrick Njoroge.
Palm oil prices rose sharply in the 12-months to June when Covid-19 lockdowns reduced output from Southeast Asian farms, after remaining relatively constant for the preceding five years.
Kenya imports palm oil primarily from Malaysia, where the benchmark price for the commodity increased from $649 (Sh70,480) per metric tonne in June 2020 to $1017.50 (Sh110,500) in June 2021.
Because of the higher palm oil price, alternative oils such as animal and vegetable oils have also increased in price, partly due to increased demand to fill the void left by decreasing palm oil supply.
