eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome & Kumbirai Tarusarira
HARARE – The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has set new retail and wholesale prices for a range of commodities to protect consumers from profiteering tendencies by unscrupulous retailers.
The pricing exercise is meant to ensure that retailers sell at the GMAZ-stipulated price range for varied products that include mealie meal, coarse salt, rice, and self-raising flour.
In March this year, GMAZ in collaboration with Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers embarked on a price monitoring scheme around the country, an initiative that seemed to wane as rampant price distortions continued to be witnessed in local shops.
The newly publicised recommended prices have set the miller price for 5kg roller meal at between $8,50 -$11,56 with a retail price of between $9,60 -$13,06, a 10 kg roller meal miller price is pegged at $17,00- $22-08 while retail price ranges between $19,21 – $24,95.
Coarse salt 2kg will range between $3.50 and $5.89 with a retail price range of $4.20-$7.07.
2kg rice miller price is pegged between $16.00 and $19.08 and retail price of $19.20- $22.89.
In a statement accompanying the fresh set of prices GMAZ said the new pricing model had considered the geographical spread of buying points.
“The price monitoring by GMAZ of products produced by millers will continue in order to safe guard consumer from profiteering tendencies by some unscrupulous wholesalers and retailers.
“The indicated are the recommended range prices of the milling industry products, the range captures the variety of brands’ market equities and the geographic spread of buying points,” said GMAZ.
Prices of most goods have risen over the last few months with the trend notable across leading retailers and wholesalers in the country.
Consumers have struggled to keep pace with the wave of frequent, and in instances, wanton price hikes, as the majority of employers have not increased salaries.
