Markets & Finance

Uganda families struggle to buy food as cost of living rises

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Uganda has potential to produce a variety of agricultural produce. Photo/FILE

Ugandans will continue to feel the pinch of high commodity prices as the country’s double digit inflation rate maintains its upward surge.

The Consumer Price Index data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics released on Friday indicates that the annual inflation rate shot up from 11.1 per cent in March to 14.1 per cent in April.

Food crops inflation, the main driver of inflation, rose to 39.3 per cent from 29.1 per cent registered in March 2011.

UBOS director for macro-economics, Dr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, who released the inflation figures, hinged the rise in food inflation to increases in prices of foodstuff due to low supplies to markets, resulting from a long dry season.

Among the foodstuff that registered price increases are matooke, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, pineapples, sweet bananas, passion fruits, avocado, tomatoes, beans, groundnuts, fish and beef, among others.

“The rainy season has just started after a long dry period. You can’t plant crops today and harvest within just weeks. When the harvest season begins, foods prices will come down,” said Dr Mukiza.

A bunch of matooke costs between Ush27,000 and Ush30,000, up from Ush9,000 in November last year.

Beef costs Ush7,000 a kilogramme, Ush4000 for a kilogramme of groundnuts and Ushs9,000 for a kilogramme of fish.

The rising international oil prices have also seen local pump prices go up by almost half last year’s prices.

This has further worsened food inflation as a result of increases in transport charges. A litre of petrol costs Ush3,500, diesel goes for Ush3,100 and kerosene costs Ush2,700.

Households throughout the country are struggling to feed their families amid the rising cost of living.

This has seen demonstrations sweep the country in the past two weeks with people demanding government intervention.

However, President Museveni has insisted that there is nothing the government can do to stop the soaring commodity prices adding that the prices are fixed by market forces of demand and supply.

Inflation in the country has been accelerating since November last year when it stood at 1.4 per cent before jumping to 3.1 per cent in December, five per cent in January and 6.4 per cent in February.

Prof Augustine Nuwagaba, an economist, said that despite the drought and high international oil prices, a lot of money, which was injected in circulation during the electoral period has also partly contributed to the rising inflation.

Monitor