Volume 1: Consumer Price Indices

Uganda (Kampala)

Official title

Consumer Price Index.

Scope

The index is computed monthly and relates to all households with monthly expenditure of 100,000 shillings or less, living in Kampala and Entebbe.

Official base

December 1988 = 100.

Source of weights

The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure survey conducted from April 1989 to April 1990 among low- and middle-income group households with monthly expenditure of 100,000 shillings or less.

The criteria used in selecting items for price collection are: the item should have significant weight according to the survey, should be common to many households in the survey and should have specific quality, quantity and location. Due to limited resources, some items selected are not priced, although they have the above mentioned characteristics. The weights of two or more items were therefore combined, one of the items being expected to remain on the market, and these were selected to represent the others with combined weights. The items were combined in such a way that their price movement had the same trend and end use.

Weights and composition

Major groups	Number of items	Weights	Approximate number of price quotations
Food	29	50.8	...
Beverages and tobacco	7	6.3	...
Fuel and light	3	7.3	...
Transport	9	5.9	...
Clothing and footwear	12	5.5	...
Miscellaneous	14	8.5	...
Services (incl. rent, education and health)	15	15.7	...
Total	89	100.00	...

Household consumption expenditure

Not available.

Method of data collection

Six markets were selected for both Kampala city and Entebbe town. No scientific method was used to select these market places. The criteria used to choose them were their size and geographic distribution.

In each market, prices are collected for food, drinks and tobacco, fuel and power, clothing and footwear. Clinics and hospitals provide prices of medicaments and drugs as well as consultation fees. These were selected according to attendance rate of patients and geographic distribution. Schools, both primary and secondary, give charges for education and were chosen according to the number of pupils or students attending and by location. Transport companies and groups that are generally responsible for the bulk of this activity provide information on fare changes.

Prices of all items are collected every month except for education charges which are collected once every four months, i.e. once every academic term. The prices collected refer to the middle of the month in question and there is no special treatment for fruit and vegetables.

Prices for items that do not have standard measurements, especially those that are found in heaps and other items for which there are no standard weights are obtained through direct purchase. However, items for which prices are too high to fit the financial budget of the Statistics Department, are priced either by interview methods or are simply quoted.

The data for services are obtained by mail questionnaires.

Usually four people are involved in the price collection exercise. They are equipped with the same amount of money for each market, two weighing scales and a list of items to be priced. Most of the items are bought through the process of bargaining and then weighed, while for others prices are just quoted.

The prices actually paid by the consumer are collected, without excluding discounts, sale prices or black-market prices.

Housing

Rent quotations are obtained for selected apartments, boys' quarters, flats and bungalows in such a way that all social groups are represented.

Specification of varieties

Specifications describe the quantity, quality and market location.

Substitution, quality change, etc.

If the quality of an item changes considerably, a new quality is taken as a different item and as a close substitute for the old item. When a new commodity appears on the market, it is priced but not introduced in the index until enough data are available. When a commodity disappears from the market, the previous months' prices are used for a period of about two months, but if the situation persists it is replaced by a close substitute.

Seasonal items

Although consumer prices for are collected for seasonal items, so far no adjustment have been made for seasonal effects.

Computation

The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to the base period.

Price relatives of the current and previous periods are used to compute item indices.

Other information

The index will be revised on the basis of the final calculations of the household expenditure survey.

Organisation and publication

Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Statistics Department: Key Economic Indicators (Entebbe).

Idem: Statistical Bulletin No. CPI/1 Consumer Price Index Kampala (to September 1990), Entebbe, October 1990.