The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has promised consumers that members of the Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) will reduce bread prices soon.
Bakers recently raised the price of bread from US$1 to an average of US$1.
20 in response to rising fuel prices, disruptions to global wheat supply chains caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine, and lack of access to foreign currency to fund imports.
However, RBZ Governor John Mangudya said the rise of bread prices was caused by bakers’ lack of access to foreign currency to import wheat and procure fuel for deliveries.
He promised customers that the agreement between RBZ and BAZ will lower bread prices.
“Taking into account the submissions by the Bakers Association of Zimbabwe and the need to stabilise the price of bread, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe agreed with the Bakers Association that its members would assess their full requirement of foreign exchange through the weekly foreign exchange auctions for importation of inputs and procurement of fuel for the distribution of bread across the country,” Mangudya said in a statement.
“It is expected that members of the bakers association will review the price of bread downwards.
“Going forward, the price of bread will be adjusted on account of economic fundamentals that include global price trends of inputs and the movement of the foreign currency exchange rate,” he added.
Meanwhile, former finance minister Tendai Biti contended that the agreement between RBZ and BAZ was a result of “command economics” which failed to address the causes of the price increase.
“Command economics doesn’t work. You can’t call bakers and force them to reduce the price of bread when you are not addressing the drivers of the price increase,” Biti said.
Mangudya’s engagement with bakers comes at a time when most Zimbabwe’s basic commodities prices are increasing, at an alarming rate.
