January price madness stabilises

A few products have had upward price reviews in the last few weeks, putting them beyond the reach of many.

A survey of a number of retail outlets across the country showed that a 2kg bag of sugar presently ranges between US$1,90 and US$2, with 2kg rice hitting similar price averages.
The cost of a 5kg bag of maize meal also remained fairly priced at US$4,50, while 1kg of salt ranged between US$0,90 and US$1.

However, there are apparent steep price increases in some products such as cooking oil, with South African imports ranging between US$4 and US$4,50 and locally produced cooking oil costing between US$4,50 and US$5,40, showing that the locally manufactured cooking oil is even more expensive.
Washing soap has also seen an upward price shift with a standard bar going for US$1,50, up from US$0,90 a few months ago.

Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate went down to 3,2 percent last month, shedding 1 percent on the November rate of 4,2 percent, while month-on-month inflation stood at -0,4 percent in December after peeling off -0,9 percent on the November 2010 rate of 0,5 percent.

Technically, this should indicate that the rate of price increases between November and December decreased by -0,4 percent and has been reflected by the relative stability of most consumer goods prices.
According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, the cost of living for an average family of six rose 1 percent midway into January driven by rising prices in food and detergent items.

The extensive importation of particularly cooking oil and soap products from South Africa is impacting on the pricing configurations in local retail outlets as the strengthening of the rand against the United States dollar drives up the cost of importing products into Zimbabwe. This is further buttressed by the fact that the country is using a multi-currency system that is mainly supported by the United States dollar.

Observers contend that an effective solution to reducing the country’s presently high levels of imported inflation from South Africa is to boost the manufacturing sector’s productive capacity.

At the same time there is need to reduce the high level of finished product importation, but it is also incumbent upon local producers not to prejudice customers by driving up the unit cost of the product due to limited competition.
“Locally manufactured products have increased on the market. However, they are still not at competitive prices and levels compared to imported products,” the CCZ noted earlier this month.-

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