Africa-Press – Eswatini. Following the proposed E1.70 bread price hike that has been tabled by bakers, insiders have revealed that government intends to hike increase the price of bread by six per cent.
This effectively means should the proposal which has been presented to Cabinet for approval get the nod, the proposal which has been recently tabled by Eswatini Bakers’ Association to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade by 13 per cent increment for both brown and white bread could not see light of day.
The 13 per cent hike translated to an increase of E1.70 at the highest. Yet the six per cent proposal translates to only 70 cents which would be E1 lower than the initial proposal. The new proposal could place the price of brown bread E12.10 from E11.39. White bread if the ministry’s wish comes to fruition, will rise to E13.80 from E13.07.
Meanwhile, the price of a white loaf of bread (800 grams) would have spiked from E13.07 to E14.77 according to bakers. A loaf of brown bread could have been hiked to E12.87 from E11.39 since the last increase which was on October 26, 2020.
An independent economist, who was also against the notion of increasing bread prices by up to E1.70, observed that the proposed increase would further dig deeper into the pockets of consumers because five cents coins were phased out in the kingdom. Therefore, the price would have been further rounded up to E14.80 for white bread and E12.90 for brown bread.
The association had made their request based on the increase of bread inputs and fuel hikes. An increase in the prices of wheat by up to 30 per cent was reportedly one of the key factors why the bakers felt their production costs were now too high.
Also, the hike in unleaded petrol by 90 cents per litre, whilst Diesel and Illumination Paraffin increased by 80 cents per litre was pointed out as a driving force for an increment in the price of bread.
The new fuel prices came into effect at midnight, Thursday December 2, 2021.
Following the adjustments, unleaded petrol (ULP 95) rose from E16.25 per litre to E17.15 per litre.
Diesel (0.005 per cent (S) increased from E16.20 per litre to E17 per litre and paraffin price spiked from E10.95 per litre to E11.75 per litre.
It should be noted however that the increase in fuel was attributed to the international crude oil prices, which were reduced slightly from US$85.31 to US$79.09 in November due to the release of Strategic Petroleum Reserves which was coordinated by the world’s biggest economies against OPEC’s non-response from the request for mitigation measures against the escalating oil prices.
When asked what was Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade’s stance on the proposed price, Principal Secretary (PS) Siboniso Nkambule had also hinted that the 13 per cent increase was considered a bit high and viewed to be exorbitant.
Nkambule had also been probed as to whether following the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic there would be any considerations made for the public which has a lessened financial muscle, to which he responded by acknowledging that the whole nation was still recovering from the recent unrest and also the pandemic which left most consumers out of jobs and some with pay-cuts, while bread has presented itself as a staple food for most households thus any increase should be fair to all parties.
“Currently, proposal for the increase is with Cabinet,” disclosed Nkambule which correlated reliable information from sources to the effect that the six per cent (70 cents) which government wants was yet to be approved. It could not be immediately ascertained if the bread price hike forms one of the key issues to be deliberated on during the ongoing retreat.
Eswatini Consumer Association Chairman Bongani Mdluli when sought for a reaction to the proposal said following the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of Emaswati had lost their jobs or income which should be greatly considered by the approvals authority.
“Let us wait for the economy to bounce back before any increase in the price of bread,” said Mdluli.
It should be noted that economic activity depicted signs of recovery in the second half of the financial year 2020/21 following a poor start that emanated from lockdown restrictions implemented earlier in the financial year.
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