100 bakeries close due to wheat flour price hike – Mozambique

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

100 bakeries close due to wheat flour price hike – Mozambique

8:29 CAT | 21 Apr 2016

Almost 100 Mozambican bakeries have shut down since the beginning of this year, forced to close because of the continuing rise in the price of their main raw material, wheat flour, according to the chairperson of the Mozambican Association of Bakers (AMOPAO), Victor Miguel.

Miguel was speaking to reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with AMOPAO members, called to discuss the problems affecting their activities, particularly the price of wheat flour. When expressed in the local currency, meticais, the price of flour has risen because of the recent depreciation of the metical against the US dollar.

“At the start of this year, 98 bakeries closed out of the 400 that are members of AMOPAO”, said Miguel. He added that others could follow in the near future, if immediate measures are not taken to solve the problem.

Miguel claimed that, since the beginning of 2016, the price of wheat flour has risen by 16 per cent. A 50 kilo sack of flour that cost 1,225 meticais in December now costs 1,450 meticais (about 28 US dollars at current exchange rates).

The last time bread prices rose was in October 2015. All types of bread went up by 1.5 meticais, regardless of size. Thus a standard 250 gram loaf ,sold previously for six meticais, now cost 7.5 meticais (a 25 per cent rise). A much smaller loaf, weighing 150 grams, which used to cost three meticais now sold for 4.5 meticais (which is a 50 per cent increase).

Miguel justified the October price hike on the grounds that there had been no increase in the price of bread since 2008.

Last month, he warned that a further price increase would be inevitable if no measures were taken to soften the impact of the rising price of the raw materials. But the Minister of Industry and Trade, Max Tonela, guaranteed that there would no increase in the bread price.

“We are continuing to work on managing the price of bread”, he said. “Our objective, in discussions with the bakers is to avoid another price rise in the near future. For the time being we are not envisaging any increase”.

Source: AIM