In the course of doing our surveys, we noted that the price of sugar had gone up. While sugar was going for $38 ZWL per 2kg during the month of January and the first week of February, the price has gone up to almost $45 ZWL per 2kg.

Sugar prices from our latest survey:

Choppies $43.65 ZWL
OK $43.65 ZWL
Pick N Pay (TM) $44.99
FoodWorld $43.65 ZWL

NB All prices are for 2kg packs.

The price of white sugar (Gold Star) remained around the $38 ZWL mark, although that might change too as production has gone down.

Shortages loom

In one of life’s coincidences, production volumes of sugar at Hippo Valley also dropped by 12%. According to the Herald, Hippo Valley produced 211 267 tonnes of sugar compared to 238 965 produced for the year ending 31 December 2018.

They have attributed to a fall in supplied sugarcane, among other things. Supply was down 5 percent, with farmers delivering 1 010 571 tonnes of sugarcane compared to 1 068 164 tonnes from 2018. The sugar company is also facing logistical challenges in the supply of imported critical inputs, spares, and services as well as depressed demand for sugar.