TINASHE MAKICHI
Zimbabweans should brace for a price hike in the cost of meat following a jump in the prices of stock feed owing to exchange rate conundrum triggered by recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021, Business Times has established.
Multiple well-placed sources told Business Times that despite the existence of the SI 127 of 2021, which prohibits businesses from selling goods and services or quoting at an exchange rate above the ruling auction market rate, manufacturers of stock feed have hiked prices in US dollar terms as well as local currency terms.
This has seen ranchers or farmers charging meat processors high prices, who would in turn pass on the burden to consumers.
Michael Lashbrook, the CEO of National Foods Limited, said the current pricing structure was a result of the ‘dilemma’ in the foreign currency market.
National Foods is one of the biggest stock manufacturers of stock feed in Zimbabwe.
“On the issue you must get in touch with retailers but I think the pricing issue has been centred on the exchange rate dilemma in the market,” Lashbrook said.
Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwe Poultry Association chairman, Solomon Zawe, were fruitless as his mobile phone number was not reachable.
A snap survey by Business Times also discovered that in some retail outlets, the price of meat in local currency has increased significantly.
A kilogramme of beef is now selling around ZWL$900 to ZWL$1100 from ZWL$600 while a kilogramme of chicken has since gone up to around ZWL$700.
There is also a serious exchange rate dilemma in the market where there are four exchange rates.
There is the auction exchange rate (ZWL$93:US$1), Swipe to US$ (ZWL$180:US$1), Mobile money to USD (ZWL$200: US$1),and ZWL$ cash to US$ (ZWL$165:US$1).
There is also a rate for nostro US$ and the rates except the auction; change more than three times per week.
This has created confusion on the market and extreme cases are when the supplier/manufacturer/tuck shop wholesale flatly refuses any other payment for goods and services except US$ cash which comes with discounts to entice the retailer or wholesaler.
Business Times is also informed that most stock feed manufacturers have resorted to a strictly US$ cash business where retailers and wholesalers who are paying in local electronic currency are being made to wait.
This, however, has since some retailers now increasing prices on the available stock feed.
