BY PETER KARANJA
If you are looking at buying a television set, fridge or a few choice electronics, then you better load your wallet.
Reports indicate that the prices of electronics often used at home have increased by more than 20 percent due to raw materials shortage.
A spot check by Business Daily showed prices of brands like Sony, LG and Samsung have increased by more than Sh10,000.
Some of the goods likely to be affected include washing machines, water heaters, home theatre, televisions and fridges.
“The majority of Kenyan electronics are imported from China, but their factories closed and on the opening, they had a backlog. The main reason was Covid-19,” said AMRCO head of sales Kunal Patel.
Adding: “We are facing higher freight rates and makers also say there is a shortage of chips.
“The prices have been going up and they are still going up. We expect a 20 percent to 30 percent price jump.’’
“We are expecting the price to increase by more than 10 percent on all electronic supplies,” a local supplier added.
Manufacturers are grappling with shortage and subsequent rise of the cost of raw materials such as copper, plastics and steel used in making all appliances.