The increasing costs of food, power, and cooking gas have led Kenyans to delve further into their savings in May 2025.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), inflation decreased marginally from 4.1% recorded in April 2025 to 3.8%.
Why Kenya’s inflation remains high
Although the inflation rate remained below the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) midpoint of 5%, consumers were forced to pay more for various commodities.
“The annual inflation was mainly due to an increase in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, housing, water, electricty, gas and other fuels,” read the KNBS report in part.
The food and non-alcoholic index increased by 6.3%, the transport index by 2.3%, and the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel index by 0.8%, in the 12 months to May 2025.
What’s the price of basic food items
Prices of maize flour increased by 3.9%, cooking oil (6.2%), sugar (4.3%), sukuma wiki (3.5%) and tomatoes (1.2%).
A random inspection of several supermarkets revealed that the price of flour had risen to approximately KSh 175 for each 2kg pack, depending on the brand.
This was due to a significant rise in maize prices (by 2.8% in May) reaching above KSh 5,000 for each 90kg bag.
The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, announced that the government plans to reduce the cost of maize to KSh 4,250 following the release of 200,000 bags from the National Cereals and Produce Board.
More to follow…
