‘Continuous bread price hikes worrying’

Nesia Mhaka Herald Correspondent

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) chief executive Mr Denford Mutashu has said the continuous increase in bread prices is worrying.

Bakers hiked the price of bread over the weekend for the seventh time this year by 2,7 percent from $14,75 to $18,45 for a standard loaf.

Mr Mutashu called on Government to intervene to come up with a solution to contain the increases.

“As retailers association, we are really concerned about the continued rise of bread price in the wake of production constraints and constrained foreign currency supply,” said Mr Mutashu.

“It is very disheartening that bread prices are continuously going up. I think what needs to be done is for Government to intervene, they need to sit down with bakers, millers and importers of wheat in order to find ways to contain these bread price increases.”

Mr Mutashu said there was need for a universal approach to ensure that both consumers and bakers were sustained.

“There is need for a holistic approach because we cannot just say that bakers should reduce bread prices, yet they are incurring costs that need to be covered,” he said.

Mr Mutashu said mealie-meal prices should now come down following President Mnangagwa’s directive that the subsidy of maize should be restored.

The new prices are applicable to Bakers Inn and Lobels bread only, while prices for Proton bread have remained unchanged.

National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (NBAZ) chairperson Mr Dennis Wala could not be drawn into commenting, saying he was in a meeting for the better part of the day.

President Mnangagwa said basic goods should be cheap so that everyone could afford them.

“I want to say this here, the issue of mealie-meal affects a lot of people and we cannot remove the subsidy,” he said.

“So, I am restoring it so that the price of mealie-meal is also reduced.

“We have a cheap food policy that we are creating to ensure that basic foods are affordable.”