Consumers in Zimbabwe are bracing for for another big increase in the price of bread following a fourfold surge in the price of baker’s flour, this just two weeks after the government authorized bakers to nearly triple the price of a loaf of bread.
Flour went from Z$7,500 to more than Z$30,000 for a 50 kilogram bag. This is likely to have a knock-on effect on the price of bread, currently Z$850 a loaf compared with an official price of Z$295 a few weeks ago. Some fear it may soar to Z$1,200 a loaf.
Starch-substitute rice is also out of reach for many as its price has recently surged to Z$4,000 for a two kilo bag when purchased from the state Grain Marketing Board, up from Z$2,500 previously. But private sellers are asking up to Z$10,000.
Matebeleland representative Comfort Muchekeza of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that consumers are already reeling from previous price hikes.
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