"We're Not Profiteering," Retailers Comment On Price Increase

Retailers have said that inflation in the country is being caused by the increased cost of doing business.

Speaking in an interview with the Chronicle, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president, Mr Denford Mutashu said:

It will be folly for us to focus on prices that we see in the shops without addressing the fundamental challenges that are actually pushing the pricing models to be unstable and one of them is the issue of general cost of doing business.

The cost of doing business has been going up and this has been exacerbated by quite a number of challenges. Many retailers were forced to buy generators so that they remain open even when there is no electricity and operating on a generator is very expensive. These are some of additional costs that businesses have to contend with as they grapple with price changes from manufacturers.

His remarks come when prices of commodities have been going up countrywide. The government accuses the business community of sabotaging efforts to revive the economy.

Consumers have been complaining about the soaring inflation at a time when workers’ salaries have remained stagnant.

Analysts have also projected that prices of commodities will continue to go up for as long as the local currency is losing value against foreign currency.

The local industry is grounded, therefore, businesses need scarce foreign currency to purchase commodities from beyond the country’s borders.

More: The Chronicle