COST OF LIVING AGONY! Inflation Shoots To 5.8% As Food, Fuel Prices Soar
-UBOS figures show diesel prices jumped 49.2%, petrol 34.3% and food crop inflation hit 10.7%, with Kampala’s low-income households recording 6.7% annual inflation.
By Evans Najuna
KAMPALA — Uganda’s annual headline inflation has risen to 5.8 percent in October 2026, up from 4.1 percent recorded in September, driven by rising food prices, transport costs and increasing fuel prices.
The latest figures released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) on Friday at Statistics House in Kampala indicate mounting price pressures on households, with essential commodities such as beans, matooke, diesel and petrol registering significant increases.
The October inflation report was presented by Samuel Ejoku from the Department of Consumer Price Indices and Inflation.
According to UBOS, monthly headline inflation also accelerated to 1.1 percent in October, compared to 0.9 percent in September, signalling a faster pace of price increases during the month.
Food prices remained a major source of pressure, with monthly Food Crops and Related Items Inflation rising by 5.7 percent in October, although this was lower than the 7.0 percent increase recorded in September.
The increase was driven by beans, whose prices rose by 13.9 percent, compared to 6.3 percent in September. Matooke prices increased by 16.2 percent, up from 16.0 percent, while tomatoes registered a 7.4 percent rise, compared to 0.2 percent the previous month.
Sweet potato prices increased by 11.9 percent, while passion fruits rose by 11.1 percent.
On an annual basis, Food Crops and Related Items Inflation surged to 10.7 percent in the year ending October 2026, compared to 4.5 percent recorded in the year ending September.
UBOS attributed the sharp increase to rising prices of dry beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, matooke and pineapples.
DIESEL, PETROL PRICES SOAR
Fuel prices also contributed to the rising cost of living, with annual Energy, Fuel and Utilities (EFU) Inflation climbing to 15.4 percent in October, up from 14.5 percent in September.
Diesel recorded one of the steepest increases, with annual inflation reaching 49.2 percent, compared to 42.5 percent in September.
Annual petrol inflation rose to 34.3 percent, up from 30.9 percent, while firewood inflation increased to 15.5 percent from 14.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, EFU Inflation accelerated to 1.0 percent in October from 0.5 percent in September.
Liquid energy fuels registered a 2.1 percent increase, with petrol prices rising by 2.2 percent and diesel prices surging by 4.1 percent.
Cooking gas prices increased by 0.8 percent, while kerosene prices rose by 0.4 percent. Firewood prices also rebounded, increasing by 2.0 percent after registering a 2.0 percent decline in September.
The rising cost of fuel is a key concern because it can feed into transport and production costs, potentially placing additional pressure on consumers and businesses.
TRANSPORT COSTS ADD TO PRESSURE
Annual Core Inflation, which excludes selected volatile items such as food crops and energy-related products, increased to 4.4 percent in October from 3.7 percent in September.
Annual Core Services Inflation rose to 5.3 percent from 4.6 percent, largely driven by passenger transport services, restaurants and accommodation services, as well as refuse collection charges.
Passenger Transport Services Inflation climbed to 14.6 percent, compared to 11.2 percent in September.
Inflation for restaurants and accommodation services rose to 2.8 percent from 2.3 percent, while refuse collection charges registered an annual increase of 40.3 percent, up from 27.4 percent.
Annual Core Goods Inflation also increased to 3.7 percent from 3.1 percent, driven by higher prices of maize flour, rice, beef, refined oil and cassava flour.
The figures suggest that price pressures are extending beyond food and fuel into services and other household necessities.
FOOD AND TRANSPORT LEAD ANNUAL INFLATION
An analysis of inflation by expenditure categories showed that Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Inflation rose to 7.5 percent in October, compared to 4.7 percent in September.
Transport Inflation increased to 11.9 percent from 9.8 percent, while Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Inflation rose to 6.8 percent from 6.2 percent.
Inflation in Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance increased to 3.8 percent from 3.3 percent, while Clothing and Footwear Inflation rose to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent.
Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods Inflation increased to 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent.
Education Services Inflation remained unchanged at 5.7 percent, while Insurance and Financial Services Inflation held steady at 10.1 percent.
Information and Communication Inflation edged up to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent.
The figures underscore the broad-based nature of price increases, with several categories of goods and services recording higher annual inflation.
KAMPALA LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS HIT HARDEST
UBOS data further showed that Kampala’s low-income group recorded the highest annual inflation among the geographical centres and income groups analysed, at 6.7 percent in October, compared to 4.2 percent in September.
The increase was largely driven by Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Inflation, which surged to 11.0 percent from 4.4 percent.
Inflation in Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods also rose to 4.4 percent from 3.4 percent.
Kampala’s middle-income group recorded the second-highest annual inflation at 6.1 percent, up from 4.7 percent in September.
This was driven by Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Inflation, which rose to 8.6 percent from 5.9 percent, and Transport Inflation, which increased to 13.4 percent from 10.4 percent.
Mbarara Centre registered the lowest annual inflation among the areas highlighted in the report, at 4.8 percent, compared to 2.9 percent in September.
The increase came despite Education Services Inflation declining to 1.4 percent from 2.3 percent and Health Inflation falling to 1.3 percent from 1.7 percent.
MONTHLY PRICES RISE ACROSS SECTORS
The monthly inflation breakdown also showed increases across several expenditure categories. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Inflation rose by 2.3 percent in October, compared to 2.6 percent in September.
Transport Inflation increased by 1.2 percent from 0.7 percent, while Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Inflation rose by 0.7 percent from 0.1 percent.
Education Services Inflation increased by 1.7 percent after registering no change in September. Restaurants and Accommodation Services Inflation rose by 0.8 percent, while Clothing and Footwear Inflation increased by 0.7 percent.
Monthly Core Inflation accelerated to 0.6 percent from 0.3 percent, with Services Inflation rising to 0.9 percent from 0.2 percent. Core Goods Inflation increased to 0.4 percent from 0.3 percent.
The latest figures highlight growing price pressures across food, fuel, transport and household services, with low-income households in Kampala experiencing the highest annual inflation among the geographical centres and income groups highlighted by UBOS.
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