BREAD PRICES STILL LOWER THAN IN SA, LESOTHO, NAMIBIA

MANZINI – Despite the six per cent increase announced yesterday, bread in the country still costs slightly less than in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

This is because despite that there is no breather for consumers locally, given the escalating cost of living, following the increase in fuel costs, the price of bread has been hiked by six per cent which still renders it cheaper than in the three other countries. This is the 700 grammes of a loaf of brown bread.  In Eswatini, following the hike, it shall cost E11.33, which is lower than the price of bread weighing the same in these countries. In Lesotho, a loaf of brown bread is said to cost E12, which is the same as that of Namibia.  However, in South Africa, it cost E14.46 on average.

The neighbouring republic also has the highest cost of a loaf of white bread weighing 700 grammes as it retails at E15.46 on average. The second most expensive white bread is in Lesotho as it cost E13 and Eswatini is third on the list as the bread will, as of next month, retail at E12.66. The cheapest white bread is in Namibia as it retails at the same amount as the brown bread – E12. Meanwhile, the six per cent means that a loaf of white bread weighing 800 grammes shall as of April 1, 2022, retail at E13.85. This is a hike of 78 cents from the increment announced on October 23, 2020, wherein the same sized loaf retailed at E13.07.

Also, a loaf of brown bread weighing 800 grammes shall now retail at E12.07 as it has been increased from E11.39. This translates to an increment of 68 cents. The increment of bread prices was announced by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo. In a press statement, Khumalo said government had approved the increase of prices for both brown and white bread by six per cent. He said: “The increase has been necessitated by the escalation of raw materials such as wheat, flour and premix among other ingredients used in bread production. The recent fuel hike also had an adverse effect in the profitability of the industry.”

The minister said the increase was envisioned at keeping the bakers businesses at sustainable profitability levels and retaining human resource in this industry as it employed a significant number of emaSwati. The announcement by the minister revoked Legal Notice No.256 of 2020 as articulated in the issuance of the Maximum Wholesale and Retail Prices of Bread Notice, 2022.

Threat

Meanwhile, there has been a large threat to the bakery industry given the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. This is because since the war started, the prices of wheat, which is the core ingredient in the recipe for bread, have surged by 40 per cent. The country imports about 46 000 tonnes of wheat annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). Eswatini does not produce wheat but solely relies on imports.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: