The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe said that since Finance Minister Tendai Biti reintroduced duty on basic commodities there had been a spate of increases in the prices of commodities like maize meal and cooking oil. They blamed the increases on speculative manufacturers.
For example, the price of 10 kg roller meal has gone up from US$4.50 to anything between US$5.00 and US$6.00. This, according to CCZ, has increased the monthly basket of a family of six to US$505.21 from USUS$504 in July.
However, in an interview Musarara, who leads 27 other companies that include top millers such as Blue Ribbon and National Foods, said that the prices in shops were not in tandem with the producer price which has remained the same.
Concerned over the increases Biti recently threatened to scrap the customs duty that was meant to protect local producers such as GMAZ.
“It is important to note that the price of maize meal has not increased in the last 18 months and there is no intention of it doing so,” said Musarara.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News