The price of bread in Zimbabwe has increased recently, and bakers are attributing it to taxes mentioned in the 2024 National Budget by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. Bakers used to sell bread for around US$0.90 but have now raised the price to US$1. As a result, retailers and tuckshops have also increased their prices from US$1 to US$1.20.
According to The Mirror, bread sales have decreased in tuckshops across Masvingo following the price increase. Tuckshop owners believe the hike is due to an increase in tollgate fees from US$2 to US$4. Masvingo mainly receives its bread supply from Bulawayo. One tuckshop owner in Mucheke D mentioned that they only sold one loaf of bread the entire morning.
A snap survey conducted by Pindula confirmed the price increase. A tuckshop owner in Harare told this reporter that they had no choice but to raise their prices since bakers had done the same. They are currently charging the usual US$1 plus ZWL$500 (equivalent to US$0.13).
There is a high likelihood that we will further increase the price to around US$1.20.
Retailers like Food World, Choppies, Pick n’ Pay, OK and others, were already selling bread at around US$1.15 before Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube introduced a value-added tax (VAT) of 15 percent on goods.
Businesses are rounding off their prices to the nearest whole figure, and some are increasing their prices by a dollar, which exceeds the 15 percent VAT. They cite difficulties in providing change since some are exclusively charging their commodities in United States dollars. To address the change issue, some retailers are now giving vouchers which customers can use later in that store.
These price increases on bread and other goods are a result of the taxes outlined in the National Budget. It has caused challenges for both businesses and consumers, as the cost of living continues to rise.
It is not only bread!
The cost of every other commodity is going up. For instance, meat prices in Zimbabwe have increased. As we reported recently, Texas Chicken, a subsidiary of Associated Meat Packers that specializes in chicken, is one of the companies that issued statements stating that their chicken prices have gone up. They claim that their prices remained the same, but they have added the VAT.
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