Inflation shot up in January

Feb 02, 2014

Inflation went up in January to 6.9%, down from 6.7% in December last year as prices of many food items like Irish potatoes and chicken soared.

By John Odyek

Inflation went up in January to a recorded 6.9%, down from 6.7% in December last year as prices of many food items like Irish potatoes, cabbages, groundnuts, tomatoes, oranges and chicken soared.

Chris Mukiza, the director of macroeconomic statistics, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBoS) says that the dry spell in some parts of the country might have affected food supply to markets.

He says despite the South Sudan conflict, prices in Uganda’s towns bordering the conflict-stricken nation have not gone up and so the impact of the fighting is yet to be studied.

Many economic experts predict that the South Sudan conflict might impact on Uganda’s economy as the county was and is one of Uganda’s main trading partners.

Uganda Bureau of Statistics has said other prices that have shot up slightly include charcoal, clothing, unmetered water, medical services, hair dressing, rental charges.

Prices of items that have dropped or remained stable include fish, cement, bananas, soda, transport fares, petrol, sugar, kerosene, pineapples, passion fruit and carrots.

Uganda’s inflation rate has declined from a double digit figure but economic concerns remain over low production capacity, unemployment, high cost of doing business, low stock of infrastructure, a weak shilling in the region and high interest rates.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});