In a rare move, Mombasa-based salt producer KenSalt Limited has increased the price of salt by Sh1,000 per tonne which it attributes to increased costs of producing the commodity.
This translates to an increase of Sh1 per kilogramme.
“We have had to increase salt prices because operational costs have gone up,” Kensalt told Newszetu on Friday.
A notice by the company said the increase will be effective from Saturday, April 15.
“We wish to inform you that due to a continuous rise in the cost of production, we have been forced to increase our prices by Sh1,000 per tonne plus VAT with effect from April 15, 2023,” Kensalt General Manager Arpan Roy told customers.
“This price increase was necessary in order to continue supplying you with salt without fail.”
Kensalt is a household salt name in Kenya and its move comes at a time manufacturers are facing increased operational costs including a weak shilling that has increased the cost of imports and high power prices.
Heavily impacts their running costs
Manufacturers say that power prices make up about 30 percent of their total costs indicating that any increase in power prices heavily impacts their running costs.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) last month announced increased power tariffs which took effect on April 1.
The price change will add salt to the growing list of commodities whose prices have increased over the past year, which is hitting households hard.
Annual inflation remained constant at 9.2 percent in March, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The annual inflation was driven by a 13.4 percent rise in food and beverage prices in March compared to the same month last year while the cost of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased by 7.5 percent.
Further, the cost of transport has shot up by 12.6 percent from March last year.
“These three divisions account for over 57 per cent of the weights of the 13 broad categories. Prices of commodities under furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance recorded an increase of 7.5 per cent over the period,” said KNBS.
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