Consumer watch

PRICES of goods and services have been increasing on a daily basis over the past few weeks.

However, average consumer spending remains the same.

Experts attribute the increase in prices to speculative activity on the illegal foreign currency market.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the food basket for a family of six rose from $4 656 in February to the current level of $9 000.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Mr Denford Mutashu said there was need for the Government to focus on increasing the production and supply of goods.

“We have noticed that there has been a sharp increase in the prices of goods and services over the past few days,” he said.

“This has been due to issues to do with the parallel (money) market, the newly-introduced (foreign currency) auction system as well as the rise in the price of fuel, imports and transport costs.

“However, the only way to win the price war is through increased production and supply of goods.

“If you have noticed, cooking oil has flooded the market and this has led to stabilisation of the product’s price.”

The Sunday Mail will publish average prices of basic commodities in major retail outlets weekly.