Nairobi’s poor inflation rises most to hit a 25-month high
A woman shops for flour at a supermarket. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Nairobi’s poor homes rose to 8.6 per cent last month from 7.23 per cent in October, marking the highest rate since October 2013.
A rise in the cost of living measure means households are forced to shoulder higher commodity prices worsening their financial status in a country beset by high unemployment levels of about 40 per cent.
Poor families on average spend 42.5 per cent of their income on food while the rich spend only seven per cent according KNBS, highlighting the exposure of the poor to high food prices.
The rising cost of food is pushing Nairobi’s poor households to the edge as inflation for the lower income group hit a 25-month high in November.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that inflation for Nairobi’s poor homes rose to 8.6 per cent last month from 7.23 per cent in October, marking the highest rate since October 2013.
Poor homes are the only income segment to record inflation above the Central Bank of Kenya’s preferred ceiling of 7.5 per cent, highlighting the pressure on their budgets.
The differences in inflation levels among Nairobi’s income segments is linked to their different consumption habits, with the rich spending most of their income on transport, the middle class on utilities and rent while food takes the bulk of the poor’s budget.
“Lower income households were affected more than other groups due to an increase in food prices,” said KNBS director of production statistics James Gatungu.
The country has been experiencing El Niño rains since last month, depressing food production and supply.
A rise in the cost of living measure means households are forced to shoulder higher commodity prices worsening their financial status in a country beset by high unemployment levels of about 40 per cent.
Poor families on average spend 42.5 per cent of their income on food while the rich spend only seven per cent according KNBS, highlighting the exposure of the poor to high food prices.
The city’s middle class spend 22 per cent of their monthly income on food.
The KNBS defines low-income earners as those spending less than Sh23,670 monthly, the middle class as those spending between Sh23,671 and Sh120,000 a month and the upper income group as those spending above Sh120,000 monthly.
The inflation for Nairobi’s rich homes stood at 3.38 per cent while for the middle class was at 5.03 per cent. Kenya’s overall inflation stood at 7.32 per cent in November.
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