Price of Bread Has Gone Up By 10 Percent, Millers Say This Is Unjustified

The price of a loaf of bread has gone up by $0.10 cents. This comes as the price of basic commodities continues to skyrocket. One of the country’s top bakeries, Bakers Inn announced that the price of a standard loaf is now $1.00 from $0.90 while the price of a family loaf is now $1.10 from $1.00. The company said this had been necessitated by the increase in the price of raw materials.

However, this assertion was disputed by the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) which said the price increase was unjustified. GMAZ chairperson, Tafadzwa Musarara said:

The grain milling industry is deeply shocked by the more than 10% increase in bread prices that consumers woke up to on Saturday, December 16, 2017. As the suppliers of the major raw material in bread baking, flour, we find the increase unreasonable and devoid of any economic justification.

In that published list, bakers flour had (and still have) maximum price to bakers of US$32 per 50kg bag. The bakers did not object to this price because it is the same price that has been maintained by milling industry for the past five years. In fact, the three big bakers namely Bakers Inn, Proton and Labels who control more than 80% of the bread market, buy at much lower prices than US$32 per 50kg bag. Therefore, the increase cannot be attributed to any increase in the cost of flour because there isn’t any increase of that sort.

GMAZ avers that consumers have been short-changed during this festive season where demand is at its highest. Accordingly, bakers have a duty to explain the increase to authorities and the consuming public.

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