Kabompo, May 31, ZANIS – The price of sugar in Kabompo district of Northwestern province has increased by about 150 per cent despite the district not experiencing a shortage of the commodity.
A survey conducted by ZANIS in some shops at Musamba and Main markets in Kabompo revealed that the price of a one kilogramme packet of sugar has risen from K10, 000 to K15, 000.
The survey also revealed that sugar was in abundance in the shops.
Some traders talked could not give satisfactory explanation as to why they hiked the price of sugar by 50 per cent in the month of May alone.
But some residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the increase in the price of sugar in Kabompo district was artificial and could not be justified by the traders.
Two months ago a prominent Kabompo businessman, Sandongo Luvweyi told ZANIS that the prices of all commodities in Kabompo district had been hiked by 10 per cent because of high transportation costs.
Mr. Luvweyi said transporters of goods from Lusaka to Kabompo were demanded high transportation charges because of the bad state of the gravel potion of the Mutanda-Chavuma road.
Currently, the Mutanda-Chavuma road is only tarred from Solwezi to Nkalamabwe in Mufumbwe.
And Zambia Sugar PLC in Mazabuka says it will on Monday, June 2nd, off load one million kilogrammes (1,000 metric tonnes) of sugar on the market in an effort to cushion the current shortage of the commodity in most parts of the country.
Company Corporate Affairs Manager, Lovemore Sievu, who disclosed this to ZANIS in Mazabuka today, said an additional six million kilogrammes (6,000 metric tonnes) of sugar would be off loaded on the market by Friday next week.
Mr. Sievu said currently, the company was working round the clock to ensure that the packing of the commodity is completed by tomorrow.
He also revealed that the company would be able to meet the annual national sugar consumption target within a period of three to four months.
Mr. Sievu said the company would not export sugar until it satisfied the local demand on the market.
And Mr. Sievu has assured the nation that the sharp price increase of sugar is expected to plummet once the company off loads the commodity starting Monday, 2 June, 2008.
He described the hike in the price of sugar as “day light robbery” by some unscrupulous business people, the development which has created an artificial shortage of the commodity on the Zambian market.
Meanwhile, the shortage of sugar in Mazabuka town has forced some retailers to hike the price of the commodity to K 9,000 per one kilogramme packet.
A survey conducted by ZANIS in the central business district today has revealed that only one retail shop was selling the commodity and was only selling a kilogramme to each customer.
The survey also revealed that major retail shops have had no sugar for over four days now.
consequencies and effects of privatisation especially selling companies to foreigners.