Prices Fall Slightly as Inflation Drops to 3.4% – UBOS

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has said that the general rise in prices of goods and services — what we call inflation — has gone down.

In the 12 months ending October 2025, inflation was 3.4%, compared to 4.0% in September 2025. This means that, on average, things are getting a little cheaper or prices are rising more slowly than before.

This is according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report presented by Ms Aliziki Kauda Lubega, Director of Economic Statistics, and Ms Irene Musiitwa, Senior Statistician at UBOS at UBOS head offices in Kampala.

Food Prices Drop

The biggest reason for the fall in inflation is that food prices have gone down.

According to UBOS, prices of many common foods reduced in October compared to September: Tomatoes became cheaper (prices dropped from 30% increase to 18%), Sweet potatoes also reduced (from 23% to 18%), Pineapples dropped sharply (from 44% to 23%), Onions became even cheaper than last year (prices dropped by 4.5%) and Beans, pawpaws, and oranges also cost less in many markets.

“This shows that food supply has improved and farmers are producing more,” said Ms Musiitwa.

Other Goods and Services Also Eased

Prices of many other items and services have also cooled down: Sugar prices dropped from a 15% rise to 9%, Beef prices went down from 13% to about 11%, the cost of vehicle repair fell a lot, from 33% to almost 0% and Transport costs also reduced.

However, school fees and education services became more expensive — up from 6% to 8%.

Fuel and Charcoal Slightly Up

While most prices went down, charcoal, petrol, and cooking gas became a little more expensive.

UBOS said the Energy, Fuel and Utilities group rose slightly from -0.1% to 0.1%.

Where Prices Changed Most

The Inflation by geographical impression shows Kampala (high-income areas) had the highest inflation in the month of October 2025 at 4.9%, though this was lower than 5.7% last month.

This was followed by Masaka, whose inflation is recorded at 4.1%. The least inflation was recorded in Mbale at 0.6%.

Month to Month: Prices Almost Didn’t Move

When UBOS compared October to September 2025, prices overall did not change — the monthly inflation was 0.0%, down from 0.5% in September.

This was mainly because food prices dropped in October. Tomatoes were 10.9% cheaper, Pineapples 12.3% cheaper, and Sweet potatoes 2.2% cheaper.

UBOS said this is good news for Ugandans because it shows that prices are becoming more stable.

“The fall in inflation means people can afford slightly more with the same amount of money. It also helps businesses plan better,” said Ms Lubega.

Ms Lubega added that Uganda’s inflation is still within a safe range set by the Bank of Uganda — showing that the economy remains stable.

She attributed the decline to a slowdown in price increases across key expenditure groups — particularly core goods and services and food crops and related items.

“The moderation in inflation reflects the easing of food and service prices, especially among key household items such as beans, tomatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes,” said Ms Lubega.