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Rice disappears in Z`bar markets
2008-03-10 09:12:37
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Isles traders have withdrawn rice stocks from the market following the imposition of controls on retail prices.
The authorities have announced that rice should not be sold beyond 800/- per kilogramme.
A survey conducted by The Guardian over the weekend has revealed that vendors and shopkeepers were no longer selling rice because the price set by the government was ``profitless.``
According to the survey, rice brands which have been removed from the market include Mapembe, Chapa Ngamia, and Mchele Poa.
A dealer, Hamad Kombo from Chukwani locality, said they had decided to stop pumping rice stocks into the market because they bought it at high price, and selling it at lower rates would make them incur losses.
``The government is supposed to deal with wholesalers who sell the commodity at hiked charges,`` Kombo said.
Another trader, Seif Abrahaman of Mkunazini, said after wholesalers had pushed up the price from 34,000/- per 50-kilogramme bag to 50, 000/-, retailers were compelled to absorb the rise by raising the price per kilogramme from 800/- to 1000/-.
On Friday, the Zanzibar government put ceilings on prices of rice, which is the staple food.
The authorities warned that legal action would be taken against errant importers and anyone else found guilty of selling rice beyond 800/- per kilogramme.
The value of imported rice from Pakistan and India recently shot up from 700/- to 1200/- per kilogramme in Zanzibar open markets.
The price hike was triggered by a sudden rise in wholesale prices from 34,000/- to 49,000/- per 50-kilogramme bag.
Zanzibar has for years been importing rice from India and Pakistan, as local production has failed to meet demand.
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