Zimbabwe bakers are now reverting back the bread price that had gone up last Saturday during the ongoing charge increases that have hit the country’s retail outlets.
Speaking during a stakeholder meeting on the price of bread the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development Martin Bimha said the bread price hikes were caused by constraints that the industry is facing.
“The National Competitiveness Commission will immediately engage with the bakers to facilitate swift resolution of the challenges faced by the industry,” the Minister promised.
Bread went up by 10 percent with the bread labeled 90 cents costing $1. 00 and the dollar printed now at $1.10.
Bread is among the grocery products that have hiked as the country approaches the most celebrated holiday in Zimbabwe, Christmas.
Goods such as eggs and beef have reportedly hiked in prices recently and other bakery products were added a 10 cents.
“My Ministry is also working on price escalations for other essential products and similar consultations are continuing,” Bimha said.
The prices continue to rise despite calls by President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa urging retailers to “desist from wantonly hiking prices” and “profiteering”. Recent price reverting becomes the second in two months after the September hikes which the government blamed on social media. The government had gone forward to introduce the price control on basic goods as a way of sudden price hikes.
The commodities under the monitoring list included cooking oil, mealie meal, flour, sugar, rice, salt, chicken, eggs, beef, fresh milk, laundry soap, washing powder, cement, fuel and energy.
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Chief Executive Officer Chris Mugaga said that prices are still high in the country.
During the stakeholder meeting, the Industry and Commerce appealed to all players in the value chain to be part of the solution, such as those in the packaging sector.
The meeting was attended by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Confederations of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAIZ), Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ), Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Association (CZR), Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce(ZNCC), Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) and Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC).
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