A Tame Week In The World Of Price Increases, Grocery Prices As At 19 October 2019

Compared to the past few weeks we have been having, this past week has been a relatively tame week in terms of price increases. Apart from a hike in bread prices, a 100% increase in the price of toothpaste, Royco soup doubling in price, diapers going up in OK, there was nothing earth-shattering about this week.

This can be due to a number of factors:

• Retailers have had to contend with depressed demand as wages have remained low
• Fuel prices did not change this past week and the previous increase had already been factored in
• ZESA tariff increases were factored in last week and therefore did not come into play this week
• The exchange rate rose steadily and in a more sane way this week as it has for the past few weeks
• Prices have caught finally caught up with the black market exchange rates
• There were no announced pay increases before we did our survey, pay hikes are followed by price hikes more often than not.

NB

• Those apparent price decreases are not actually price decreases, rather it’s cheaper brands that have reappeared in shops after the month-end shopping spree for example items like Spotless and Clean O All-Purpose Cleaners which are cheaper than Handy Andy
• We saw a notable increase in the price of sanitary pads
• We also saw an increase in the price of eggs
• Cooking oil remains absent from most shops except Food World