Price increases shock minister
Minister of Trade and Industry Mark Katsonga Phiri has said some retail shops are ripping off consumers by raising prices of basic commodities by over 100 percent.
He said this on Tuesday in Blantyre when he made surprise visits to some major shops in the city.
Accompanied by ministry officials, Katsonga Phiri visited ChipikuPlus, Sana, Shoprite and Game Stores, among others, where he checked prices of basic products.
He observed that the price of sugar and bread were at K700 last year in January, but now they have gone up between K1 500 and K1 900.
“Raising prices by 100 percent within 12 months is unacceptable,” said a visibly shocked Katsonga Phiri.
“Therefore, we have decided that there is something that we must do about it this year 2023. I can tell you that I am shocked with such price increases,” he said.
The minister said he will soon hold a meeting with shop owners, vendors, local manufacturers and those running retail stores to address the problem.
In an interview, Ginnery Corner Chipiku Plus branch manager Khimji Bhudiya said the shops have maintained their margin but the manufacturers are the ones who have been increasing prices of goods.
He said: “The prices of goods are indeed very high, but it is because we are getting the commodities at a high price as well.
Lately, local traders have been adjusting upwards prices of various foodstuffs following the recent devaluation of the Malawi kwacha to major trading currencies, especially the dollar.
The local unit was devalued by 25 percent in May 2022 to stabilise dwindling foreign currency reserves and return it to a market-determined exchange rate regime.
However, inflation soon soared as cooking oil doubled in cost, and petrol and diesel prices increased at least twice last year.
President Lazarus Chakwera, in his New Year Address attributed the tough economic situation to a sharp rise in the cost of living triggered by disruptions in the global supply chain and high inflation on imported commodities.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s year-on-year headline inflation for November 2022 stands at 25.8 percent, a decline from 26.7 percent recorded in October 2022.
