HARARE: The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has said the continued importation of goods and services from neighbouring countries such as South Africa was now pushing up the cost of living in the country, making life hard for ordinary people.
Zimbabwe’s trade deficit, according to ZimTrade, increased to $2,5 billion as at August 31, as the economy pulled in more imports with exports stagnant. In a statement, CCZ said the consumer basket for a family of six increased by $2,81 to $561,92 as at the end of October due to importation costs incurred by companies during the import process.
It said the food basket increased by $2,57 to $119,31 by the end of October 2015. The price of detergents increased by 24c to $8,61. The consumer watchdog said the increase in prices was recorded in brown sugar by 12c to $1,68 per 2kg, tea leaves by $0,61 to $1,59 per 250g, fresh milk by $0,05 to $0,65 per 500g, flour by $0,06 to $1,65 per 2kg, tomatoes by $0,20 to $0,75 per kg, and cabbage by 5c to $0,54 per head. Meat increased from $3,90 to $3,99 per kg and green bar soap by $0,09 to $0,99 per kg.
Decreases in prices were recorded in margarine by $0,10 to $0,69 per 500g and 20kg roller meal by $0,92 to $8,38. The price of bread, salt, onions and bath soap remained unchanged from the end of September 2015 figures.
“As CCZ, we assume that the above price increases were necessitated by importation costs since many commodities are imported from outside the country and also the end of the TM Bargain Bonanza Promotion,” CCZ said.
The CCZ said it would continue to encourage consumers to shop conscientiously and to always buy certified products. The watchdog said consumers should check for vital information such as manufacture and expiry dates and ingredients used in the products they are buying. The survey is conducted twice — during the first and the last weeks of every month.
The total cost of the food basket and the price of each commodity are arrived at by averaging prices gathered from retail outlets throughout the country. The basket is considered a fairly accurate depiction of the cost of living in urban Zimbabwe.
