As basic commodity prices continue to sky-rocket to match the on-demand American dollars (US$) parallel market rates, wheat and kapenta sellers have reported a boost in their daily sales.
In a survey carried out by this publication at Mbare Musika, retailers of the mentioned products confirmed a marginal rise in their sales this recent past.
“I have noticed a small rise in my kapenta sales. Just this past month, I imported an extra truckload adding to the usual numbers I have every month,” said Ashlee Nyathi a kapenta retailer in Mbare.
Another wheat retailer, Cosmas Muzando shared almost the same sentiments and while 263Chat was still around his table, a customer approached and on answering ways in which she is consuming the wheat she said;
“Rice prices have really gone up and we cannot afford to buy two kilograms week in week out. So I stumbled upon this recipe where you mix wheat with white rice and it has really worked for me. You can go for hours without having anything else after that meal,” said Mai Mukuvapasi of Hopely farm.
With meat prices also racing to match the US$ rates, kapenta may be the closest substitute while wheat replaces bread and flour.
Meanwhile, finance minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said that he cannot do anything about the pricing situation.
“We can neither arrest nor put in place price control measures because by doing that we risk creating more serious problems for Zimbabweans,” he said.
