adminAlmost 100 Mozambican bakeries have shut down since the beginning of this year, forced to close because of the continuing rise in the price of their main raw material, wheat flour, according to the chairperson of the Mozambican Association of Bakers (AMOPAO), Victor Miguel.
Miguel was speaking to reporters on 19 April after a meeting with AMOPAO members, called to discuss the problems affecting their activities, particularly the price of wheat flour due to the recent depreciation of the metical against the US dollar.
“At the start of this year, 98 bakeries closed out of the 400 that are members of AMOPAO”, said Miguel. He added that others could follow in the near future, if immediate measures are not taken to solve the problem.
Miguel stated that, since the beginning of 2016, the price of wheat flour has risen by 16 per cent. A 50 kilo sack of flour that cost 1 225 meticais in December now costs 1 450 meticais (about $28 at current exchange rates).
The last time bread prices rose was in October 2015. All types of bread went up by 1,5 meticais, regardless of size. Thus a standard 250 gram loaf, sold previously for six meticais, now costs 7,5 meticais (a 25 per cent rise). A much smaller loaf, weighing 150 grams, which used to cost three meticais is now 4,5 meticais (which is a 50 percent increase). — AIM.
Online Reporter