Attachments
Highlights
During the first week of December 2024, the national average prices of key food commodities are showing negligible changes compared to last week. The average price of cooking oil continue to increase by 0.7% compared to last week due to the increase in global vegetable oil price index. On a year-on-year basis, prices of food commodities, except for cooking oil and salt, are significantly lower, driven by deflation, local currency appreciation, and a drop in global food prices. Despite this, the prices of main food commodities (except for wheat grain and wheat flours) remain significantly higher compared to pre-Covid levels and the pre-political changes in the country in the month of June 2021 (except for cooking oil).
The prices of key vegetables, including tomato, potato, and onion, fluctuate significantly throughout the year, rising notably in winter due to limited stored domestic produce and reliance on imports from neighbouring countries. As of the first week of December, tomato prices increased sharply by 28% compared to the previous week but remain 20% lower than the same period last year. Potato prices rose by 6.1% week-on-week and are 8% higher than last year, while onion prices registered a marginal decline of 0.4% from the previous week yet remain 10% higher year-on-year. Moreover, the prices of these vegetables are still significantly higher than those recorded in the month of June 2021.
The national average prices of non-food commodities are showing a normal trend with minor fluctuations on weekly basis.
With the arrival of the winter season, the availability of labour work availability started to decrease with a 3.4% decline compared to last week. Year-on-year changes show a significant decline in the prices of fertilizers (DAP & Urea), improved seeds, and animal concentrate feed. Similarly, the ToT for casual labour and pastoralists are also significantly improvement.