Farmers who continue to grapple with high cost of farm inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and seeds resort to reducing planted acreage, definitely contributing to the shortage of food supplies on the markets.
Food items and other essentials are more expensive in rural areas as rural CPI increased the most by 22.5 per cent on annual basis compared to 15.6 per cent in urban areas.
Rwanda’s National Institute of Statistics (NISR) report shows costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which had increased by 15.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent on annual and monthly basis in April again rose by 24.2 per cent.
This is yet another rise after petrol and diesel prices had increased for the fourth consecutive time to Rwf1,359 and Rwf1,368 respectively on April 4.
Details seen by RwandaPost show government seeks to cut “unnecessary or non-essential/ non-efficient” spending by institutions, such as those related to official travel, physical meetings, workshops and conferences.
Soaring inflation means consumers, and especially low income and poor families struggle to afford key food and non-food items, while meeting other households’ expenses such as rent, transport, school fees, water and electric, among other bills.
Effects of both the rising cost of living and unemployment have seen families do without some basic necessities or make shifts in spending as costs outstripped incomes for majority who derive a living from work in the informal sector.
The consumer rights lobby group is of the view that it is high time for government to consider the widening mismatch between current market prices and people’s purchasing power.
Schools’ reopening for the third term Monday is expected to induce a further rise in costs of essentials as most rush to the market to fill their stock.
The gauge of routine changes in the cost of living nationally shows the index increased to 7.5 per cent last month from 5.8 per cent in February after prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 10.2 per cent on annual basis and 5.1 per cent on monthly change.
Fuel costs in the latest review are the most expensive ever recorded in the country in recent years, and will likely see producers and manufacturers, yet again, hike prices of products to levels beyond reach of majority in the low income earner and the poor brackets.
