Rwandans are bracing for the festive season with a sigh of relief, following a reduction in commodity prices – in some cases rather significantly – which will enable more families enjoy the season without having to break the bank.

The reduction in prices is as a result of the declining inflationary rate, which for the first time since the beginning of the year fell to single digit, at 9.2 per cent, according to latest numbers from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) for the month of November.

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This is a considerable reduction of inflation that soared to a record-high 21 per cent at the end of last year. For the best part of 2023, commodity prices have been on increase, something that was principally attributed to low agriculture yield, coupled with other external factors on the international market.

All in all, it is a good way to end a year and begin a new one. Already, yields in the farms have increased leading to the decline in prices of some of the food crops like Irish potatoes.

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It also follows a decision by government through the utilities regulator, to significantly reduce fuel prices on local pumps, from the Rwf1,822 on a litre of gasoline to Rwf1,639 while diesel reduced from Rwf1,662 to Rwf1,635.

The new changes announced at the beginning of December, were according to the regulator triggered by dynamics on the international market, and they will remain unchanged for at least two months.

While we are ending the year on the high, there is no guarantee that the positive trend will be maintained into 2024 if we are not deliberate about improving some things.

While there is not much we can do to influence external factors that got us where we are coming from, there is what is within our means, especially making our agriculture increasingly less reliant on Mother Nature by embracing modern farming practices.

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This therefore calls for better planning with view to make the most of the few available resources.

A situation like this also reminds of the necessity to urgently fix the trade imbalance to salvage our foreign exchange and mitigate imported shocks. This can be done by among others continuously adding value to what we produce locally.