Food prices go up in Nyeri as drought bites

Ms Veronicah Kihara a grain seller at the Whispers Park market in Nyeri Town on January 18, 2017. PHOTO | IRENE MUGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A 90kg bag of maize is retailing at Sh4,000 up from Sh3,000 while the same bag of beans is selling at Sh6,500 which is an increase from Sh5,400.
  • A kilogramme of Pishori rice, mainly sourced from Kirinyaga County, is being sold at Sh150 which according to Ms Kihara was initially retailing at Sh120.
    Vegetable traders who source their commodities in Kieni have not been spared either.

Food prices have shot up in Nyeri as effects of the biting drought continue to be felt in most parts of the country.

Traders at the Whispers Park market in Nyeri Town complained over low profits due to high food prices that have kept away customers.

Cabbages that were retailing at Sh5 per head are now retailing at Sh30 in a span of a month.

According to the traders, the supply of foodstuffs has also dropped even as their prices went up.

The erratic climatic condition experienced in the region have been blamed for the food shortage.

“Farmers harvested very little from their farms because of crop failure witnessed in the county. This has really affected our markets,” said Ms Veronicah Kihara, a cereals trader.

A 90kg bag of maize is retailing at Sh4,000 up from Sh3,000 while the same bag of beans is selling at Sh6,500 which is an increase from Sh5,400.

Despite the high prices Ms Kihara noted that a few residents were purchasing the cereals though in small quantities.

The traders have also been forced to import some commodities from neighbouring countries among them beans from Uganda which they buy at Sh4,500 per 90 kg bag.

A kilogramme of Pishori rice, mainly sourced from Kirinyaga County, is being sold at Sh150 which according to Ms Kihara was initially retailing at Sh120.
Vegetable traders who source their commodities in Kieni have not been spared either.

“The farms are dry and whatever was planted has been destroyed by frost bites,” said Mr Charles Kiama.

Grade two tomatoes are retailing at Sh60 per kg while Grade one tomatoes are being sold at Sh80 up from Sh30 in December.

However, the prices for potatoes have gone down after December from Sh500 for a 17 kg bucket to Sh400 while a four kg one is being sold at Sh150 and a two kg at Sh100.

“The prices are not stable. We buy them at a different price every day,” said Ms Purity Kagombe, a trader.

According to the county executive for Agriculture Robert Thuo over 24, 000 people in the county are facing starvation.