Factory prices up by 23 percent
Aug 27, 2008
HIGH oil prices have led to a rise in the cost of raw materials and transport, pushing producer/factory prices up by 22.5% compared to the same period last year, a Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) official has said.
By Alice Kiingi
and Conan Businge
HIGH oil prices have led to a rise in the cost of raw materials and transport, pushing producer/factory prices up by 22.5% compared to the same period last year, a Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) official has said.
“The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures changes in factory prices of goods minus taxes,†the UBOS principal statistician in charge of business and industry, Imelda Atai Musana, told a press conference on Tuesday.
In June, the price of a barrel of crude oil hit $147, stabilised to $114 and is now at $115. She said the high prices would be passed on to the consumer.
“Investors decide where and what commodity to invest in basing on the factory prices. Businesses also compare the increase in their prices with the factory prices,†Musana explained during the release of the quarterly PPI report at Statistics House in Kampala.
“Prices of manufactured goods for domestic consumption rose by 9% due to a general rise in all sub-sectors, notably processed food 21.7%, metal products 38.1%, soap and chemicals 36.6%, ricks and cement 21%,†she said.
Prices of manufactured goods rose by 7.6% in the second quarter of the year compared to 7.9% in the first quarter.
“The quarterly price increases were due to a rise in the global price of steel products. Soaring oil prices and natural gas are pushing up the price of producing steel.â€
“As incomes and industrial capacity in China and India rise, the demand for products like cars, refrigerators, tractors and dryers that require steel in production also rises,†Musana said.
She said higher prices of the above products have been worsened by increased transport costs from Mombasa.
Musana said prices of soap and chemical products, which also use oil as a raw material, had risen by 8.4% in the second quarter.
Sugar prices rose after a long spell of low prices partly due to a check on smuggled sugar that was sold at give away prices compared to the manufactured sugar.
However, prices of goods manufactured for export rose by 4.2% in the first and second quarters.
The price of exported fish dropped by 3.9% due to low demand in the European Union, holiday summer season, shilling weakness against the euro and the high demand on the local market. Tea prices rose by 2.3%.
and Conan Businge
HIGH oil prices have led to a rise in the cost of raw materials and transport, pushing producer/factory prices up by 22.5% compared to the same period last year, a Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) official has said.
“The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures changes in factory prices of goods minus taxes,†the UBOS principal statistician in charge of business and industry, Imelda Atai Musana, told a press conference on Tuesday.
In June, the price of a barrel of crude oil hit $147, stabilised to $114 and is now at $115. She said the high prices would be passed on to the consumer.
“Investors decide where and what commodity to invest in basing on the factory prices. Businesses also compare the increase in their prices with the factory prices,†Musana explained during the release of the quarterly PPI report at Statistics House in Kampala.
“Prices of manufactured goods for domestic consumption rose by 9% due to a general rise in all sub-sectors, notably processed food 21.7%, metal products 38.1%, soap and chemicals 36.6%, ricks and cement 21%,†she said.
Prices of manufactured goods rose by 7.6% in the second quarter of the year compared to 7.9% in the first quarter.
“The quarterly price increases were due to a rise in the global price of steel products. Soaring oil prices and natural gas are pushing up the price of producing steel.â€
“As incomes and industrial capacity in China and India rise, the demand for products like cars, refrigerators, tractors and dryers that require steel in production also rises,†Musana said.
She said higher prices of the above products have been worsened by increased transport costs from Mombasa.
Musana said prices of soap and chemical products, which also use oil as a raw material, had risen by 8.4% in the second quarter.
Sugar prices rose after a long spell of low prices partly due to a check on smuggled sugar that was sold at give away prices compared to the manufactured sugar.
However, prices of goods manufactured for export rose by 4.2% in the first and second quarters.
The price of exported fish dropped by 3.9% due to low demand in the European Union, holiday summer season, shilling weakness against the euro and the high demand on the local market. Tea prices rose by 2.3%.