UBOS releases Producer Price Index

Oct 29, 2014

THE indices for hotels and restaurants indicate that annual prices for hotel services fell by 2.5 percent during the period of April, May and June 2014, compared to the same period in 2013

By Raymond Baguma

 

UGANDA Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released the producer price indices for manufacturing, hotels and construction sectors at Statistics House.

 

The indices for hotels and restaurants indicate that annual prices for hotel services fell by 2.5 percent during the period of April, May and June 2014, compared to the same period in 2013. This was attributed mainly to a drop in prices for hotel accommodation which dropped by 1.8 percent.

 

However, hotel catering services increased by 11.6 percent with notable increase in prices of snacks, a la carte menu, beer, soda, mineral water, wines and spirits.

 

The cost of production may have gone down, but the price is compounded by other costs such as transport, and other levies such as Value Added Tax, bank charges, which may make the price reductions negligible.

 

The price fluctuations in accommodation and catering are attributed to foreign exchange rate, seasonal factors which affect hotel booking and change in consumer taste preferences.

 

Under the manufacturing sector, during the period of April, May, June, July and August, the factory prices for manufactured goods fell by 2 percent compared to the same period in 2013.

 

Price falls were recorded in manufactured food products, metal products, drinks and tobacco, chemicals, paint, soaps. However during the same period price increases were registered in textile, clothing and footwear, paper as well as paper products.

 

Under the construction sector indices, there was a 10.3 percent decrease in the prices of inputs for residential buildings. On the other hand, there was a 0.1 percent decrease in the prices of inputs for non-residential buildings.

 

This includes timber, paint, pipes, water tanks, clay bricks, cement, concrete products, steel bars, roofing sheets, lime, diesel, equipment hire, electrical wire and cables.

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