NIPC quarterly survey reveals shocking price differentials

ending March 31 2011.
The survey covered the five regions in the country, namely Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo and Gweru.
Generally, prices have been on the increase since January and below are some of the observations that have been made during the survey for the first quarter of 2011.
Observations
The prices for Red Seal roller meal have been on the increase since January, however major price adjustments were observed in Bulawayo where the price increase was 16,34 percent.
However, the price of this commodity was highest in Gweru as compared to other regions. In Gweru a 10kg of roller meal is going for prices above US$6 as compared to other regions where it is costing below US$5.
The main reason has been that there is no milling industry in Gweru, so transportation costs have inflated the prices of mealie-meal.
Gloria self-raising flour has shown a slight adjustment of 0,49 percent in Harare whilst in the other regions; there has been either no change or decline in the price.
Products such as Buttercup margarine, Mazoe orange crush, Sunstar cooking oil and Gold Star brown sugar showed small adjustments of below 3 percent across the five regions.
This shows some relative stability in the prices for the above-mentioned products for the first quarter of 2011.
D’lite cooking oil has seen some price decreases in Gweru, Masvingo and Bulawayo. Only Harare had a price increase and on average the price of this brand of cooking oil increased by 6,76 percent for the first quarter of 2011.
This again shows a positive movement towards price stability for the commodity.
On the vegetable side, mixed price behaviour has been observed in the five regions. The prices of cabbages across the five regions have shown huge increases for the first quarter. The lowest price adjustment was in Gweru were it was 8 percent whilst the highest was in Masvingo were it was 29,52 percent.
On the other hand, tomatoes showed a downward trend in most regions with the exception of Gweru and Mutare.
Other products showed mixed behaviour in price movements but huge price increases were recorded in products such as pork, Omo washing powder, green bar laundry soap and Irvine’s eggs with green bar laundry soap recording a price increase of above 22 percent.
Wholesalers and retailers are unfairly increasing prices citing the hardening of the rand against the dollar and higher international commodity prices. The percentage increments on commodity prices and the exchange rate fluctuations do not justify the current price increases witnessed in the retail sector.
With the inception of the tobacco selling period, the NIPC would like the urge the business community to restrain from increasing prices unnecessarily and unjustifiably. Therefore, the commission would like to urge all farmers and indeed all consumers to shop around when purchasing so as to avoid losing their money unnecessarily and to contribute to competitive pricing behaviour in the wholesale and retail consumer goods sector.
Harare Price Monitoring Report for the month of March 2011
Prices have been increasing slightly since the beginning of March 2011. A worrying feature of prices in the different supermarkets is the wide variation in prices of the same brand of commodities as highlighted below:
Red Seal roller meal 10kg ranges from US$4,20 at Rollen Supermarket to US$4,.80 at FCG Robert Mugabe Road branch.
Pearlenta 10kg ranges from US$6,60 at Spar Joina City to US$6,70 at Food World Jason Moyo Avenue.
Gloria self-raising flour (2kg) ranges from US$1,80 at Rollen Supermarket to a high of US$2,25 at Food World, Jason Moyo Avenue.
Red Seal white rice 2kg ranges from US$1,80 at Denenga Supermarket to US$2,05 at Food World, Jason Moyo Avenue, while Mahatma Rice 2kg ranges from US$2,85 at Spar Joina City to US$3,30 at FCG and Rollen supermarkets.
Buttercup margarine 250g varies from a low of US$1,25 at Spar Joina City to a high of US$1,50 at FCG Robert Mugabe Road branch.
Mazoe orange crush 2 litres ranges from US$2,69 at Spar Joina City to a high of US$2,95 at FCG Robert Mugabe Road branch
Sunlight washing powder 500g is cheapest at US$1,45 at Spar Joina City and dearest at US$1,95 at FCG Robert Mugabe Raod and Shoppa Stoppa Rezende Street branch. Omo washing powder 500g varies from US$1,75 at Afrofood and Spar Joina City to US$2,90 at Food World Jason Moyo Avenue.
Green bar 1kg laundry soap is cheapest at US$1,40 at Gutsai Supermarket and most expensive at US$1,75 at Food King.
Irvine’s shrink-wrap crate of eggs cost from a low of US$4,50 at Spar Joina City to US$5,25 at Gutsai Supermarket
Vaseline Blue Seal 250g costs from a low of US$1,60 at Spar Joina City to a high of US$2,25 at Spar Fife Avenue and Food World, Jason Moyo Avenue.
1kg of tomatoes ranges from US$0,70 at Food World Jason Moyo Avenue to US$1,20 at Gutsai Supermarket.
On the other hand, Nugget shoe polish (50ml) is cheapest at US$1,10 at Spar Savemor, Mt Darwin Bazaars and Mohammed Mussa and dearest at US$1,45 at Food King and Spar Fife Avenue.
D’lite cooking oil 2 litres is cheapest at US$3,70 at Mohammed Mussa Wholesalers and most expensive at US$4,5 at Gutsai Supermarket.
In terms of the surveyed goods and shops, Joina City Spar is on average the cheapest supermarket while FCG Robert Mugabe Road and Food World Jason Moyo Avenue are the most expensive.
Consumers are urged to shop around in order to influence downward pressures on prices of basic commodities