As we reported on Tuesday it appears there is another ongoing bread shortage. Most shops were either not selling bread or they were low on it even yesterday. Some have alleged that this is an artificial shortage manufactured by bakers.

The rumour is that bread makers want the price of bread to be reviewed upwards by as much as 50% which will see bread being sold at between $14-$15 ZWL per loaf given the current price of around $9.50 per loaf that bread is going for at the moment.

It is reported that bakers have cited the price of electricity which has gone up by and will see commercial customers ( businesses) pay $2.24 per kWh during peak hours. ZESA has also promised to review these tariffs to make sure that they remain viable at least once a month.

ZERA have also been faithfully reviewing the price of both diesel and petrol fuels every weekend without fail for a while now. Except for one anomaly, the price of fuel has gone up consistently every time.

When the price of bread was last reviewed back in the early weeks of September diesel was going for $10.42 ZWL per litre and petrol was $9.95. Now the prices are at $15.64 and $14.97 respectively. Given such changes, it is hard to fault the bakers’ pleas.

From a customer point of view, however, things look different. At $9.50 bread is already unaffordable given what most people earn. Increasing the price to $15 will just lead to even fewer sales. But then again shops charging $100 per kg of beef seem to be doing pretty well.