RUKWA: RESIDENTS in Rukwa Region are feeling the pinch of soaring food prices due to decreasing supply relative to demand.
A Daily News spot check established that prices of food items such as rice, beans, sugar, onions and cooking oil had increased compared to last month. In some areas, rice price had increased to 2,500/- per kilogramme up from between 2,100/- and 2,200/- amid declining supply as rice traders prefer a more lucrative Mbeya market which is not far from the Lake Rukwa basin, a major rice producing area.
Interviewed traders say heavy rains had damaged roads leading to some neighbouring parts of Rukwa region, increasing transport costs. Sugar prices were still high at between 3,400/- and 3,800/- per kilogramme against an indicative retail price of 3,200/- because of shortages of the sweetener in the market.
The survey revealed also beans were more expensive as its prices soared from 2,500/- to 5,000/- per kilogramme. Traders attribute the rise in prices for beans to low supply due to heavy rainfall which caused excessive soil moisture leading to below-average bean production.
The survey further showed maize prices had increased with a 100kg sack of maize being sold at 75,000/- up from the previous 50,000/-.
Onion prices have also soared with a kilogramme being sold by between 8,000/- and 9,000/- up from 3,000/-. The survey showed food vendors are most hit by the rise in sugar prices.
In Sumbawanga town a section of food vendors say the prices were affecting their business by lowering their profit margins. They called for the government to intervene as prices were still high at 5,000/- per kilogramme.
A food vendor at Saba Saba market in Sumbawanga, Ms Aziza Swedi (35), called upon the government to address the matter in order to rescue small-scale businesses that rely entirely on sugar for processing their products for sales. “I’m a food vendor and sugar is an important ingredient in my business.
The increase in the price of sugar is threatening my business which I rely on to support my family,” she said.
Sumbawanga District received 33 tonnes of sugar recently to ease shortage of the sweetener in the market which led to a hike in price of the item to between 5,400/- and 6,000/- per kilogramme. In Nkasi District, ordinary citizens voiced their concerns from soaring food prices.
A trader at Namanyere Market, Mr Silyvanus Mwenda (20), told the ‘Daily News’ that the price rise in key commodities such as sugar, rice, maize flour, onions and beans contributed to a sharp fall in their profit compared to the previous days.
Last Saturday, a kilo of rice in Namanyere town was sold at 2,500/- compared to last month’s price of 2,100/-, while one litre for cooking oil was sold at 7,500/-, up from 5,000/-.
In Kalambo District, several businesspersons and customers speaking with Daily News asked the government to intervene by limiting food exports.
A food vendor, Ms Hadija Haruna (45), said the rise in the price of essential goods has been a problem for the smooth running of her business.
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