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Photo: Jornal Ikweli
The rising cost of potatoes in Waresta wholesale market in Nampula has meant that, with most buyers unable to purchase them, they are currently deteriorating due to prolonged warehouse storage time.
‘Jornal Ikweli’ learned that a kilogram of reno potatoes currently costs between 50 to 60 meticais, against the 25 meticais charged in November of last year, before the festive season.
Because of the steep price increase, customers barely purchased the product, even during the festive season, and matters became even more acute in January with the end of the festivities.
Vendors estimate that they have not sold even 50% of stock they acquired, and are now accumulating huge losses from deterioration.
Raiton Armando, one of the merchants affected, says that, for each one million meticais load, losses from deterioration amount to between 300,000 and 500,000 meticais. “The withdrawal price is 50 meticais per kilogram,” he explains. “Suppose that 50 bags rot, each of which has a total value of 14,000 to 15,000 meticais, if we multiply that by 50, the loss is very high.”
If rain wets the product before loading, it deteriorates even faster, he adds.
“Due to lack of money, most people are unable to buy the potato at 50 meticais per kilogram, so they stay in the warehouse for a long time and begin to rot,” Armando says. “We cannot lower the price while we buy at a high price at source. Doing the maths, if we spend about 50 meticais per kilo and if we lower it to, for example, 45, we will be considerably harmed.”
Januário, another vendor, says merchants are having a hard time in January because of stock rotting. The rot is caused by heat associated with the longer time in storage due to lack of customers as a result of high prices.
“The price contributes, because if we look at it, since last year, because of the coronavirus, there is no money, and especially since December when prices went up further, and people could not afford to buy. If we bought cheap, we could charge a reasonable price, as we have done at other times. But we cannot do that, when we are buying [at] very high prices. We have to support our children,” Januário explains.
By Alfredo Célia
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