Assessing the causes of price fluctuation in consumer goods (A case study of Kalerwe Market)

Abstract

Through analyzing the consumption behavior of the consumers, this paper studied the causes of price fluctuations of consumer goods by taking a case study Kalerwe market. The results showed that various factors have been a source of price fluctuation of these goods. The study was aimed at establishing the causes and impact of price fluctuations on the consumers of these goods in Kalerwe. The study was based on different objectives including assessing the causes of price changes, determining the impact of price fluctuation, and identifying ways how to cope with the impact of price fluctuation. The study involved a survey on both sellers operating businesses on consumer goods and the buyers of these products operating in Kalerwe. Primary data was collected from a sample of 149 respondents who were both buyers and sellers. A response rate of 85% was obtained after data collection. Chi-squared tests were used to analyze the causes of price fluctuation of consumer goods in Kalerwe at a bivariate level. The research established 76.5% of the respondents reduced their consumption behavior because of the impact of price fluctuation because of various causes whereas18% continue purchasing the same quantities and this could be because their high-income status enables them to purchase. It was also established that there was no significant relationship between price fluctuation and high taxes. high transport costs(p=0.015) and the impact of covid 19 (p=0.007) were found to be the significant causes of price fluctuation of these consumer goods. In conclusion Government should waive the 10 per cent import duty on crude palm oil as a short-term measure to stabilize the prices.