Watch: Zero tolerance against food price speculation on festive season, warns minister – Mozambique

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Watch: Zero tolerance against food price speculation on festive season, warns minister – Mozambique

10:41 CAT | 15 Nov 2016

TVM

The country has enough stocks of foodstuffs to guarantee supplies during the coming festive season, claimed Mozambique’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Max Tonela on Friday, after a three day visit to the northern province of Nampula.

However, cited in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily ‘Noticias’, he admitted that shops and markets might run out of potatoes and tomatoes, given the heavy demand for these goods over the Xmas and New Year period. “But the availability of rice, wheat flour, maize flour, sugar and vegetable oil is guaranteed in all provinces”, Tonela insisted.

He also believed that, with the recent reopening of the 262 kilometre railway from Lichinga to Cuamba, connecting productive areas of Niassa province to the northern rail corridor, beans and potatoes from Niassa could easily reach not only Nampula, but also Cabo Delgado and parts of Zambezia province at competitive prices.

Tonela added that, in the next few days, brigades from his Ministry would check the demand for and availability of vegetables and pulses.

The Minister said there is no reason for any further rises in the prices of basic foods, since over the past fortnight the Mozambican currency, the metical, has stabilised against both the US dollar and the South African rand. The exchange rate against the rand is particularly important, given the large amount of food and drink that Mozambique imports from South Africa.

Tonela warned that his Ministry will not tolerate any attempt by retailers to charge speculative prices. He said that the National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE) will publicise the punitive measures envisaged under Mozambican law for anyone who raises prices unjustifiably.

However, prices have already risen sharply this year, in many cases as a direct result of the depreciation of the metical. The annual inflation rate currently stands at 25.53 per cent, and the Bank of Mozambique has warned that it could reach 30 per cent by the end of the year. Since wages have not risen to keep pace with inflation, this casts a long shadow over the festive season.