Some traders in Solwezi district of Northwestern province have taken the advantage of the shortage of sugar in the district by selling the commodity at inflated prices.
A check by ZANIS in the district today revealed that some retail outlets which had bought sugar from local wholesale suppliers at prices of K103, 000, K120, 000 and K180, 000 per bale respectively, were reselling it at exaggerated prices.
A 2 kilogram packet of white sugar is selling at K20, 000, 1 kilogram packet is going at K10, 000 while a 1 kilogram packet of brown sugar is fetching K8, 000.
Before the shortage of the commodity, a 2kg packet of white sugar was being sold at K9,000 while a 1kg packet was going at about K4, 500.
Some customers talked to by ZANIS lamented that the price of sugar was unjustified, especially that it was the same sugar they bought at the reasonable price a few days ago.
They described the 100 per cent hike of sugar prices as daylight robbery.
The Customers called upon government to normalise the situation by flooding the market with sugar.
Meanwhile, one supplier of sugar at Solwezi depot, Emit Patel has promised that he would soon flood the market in the district with sugar, the development that he said would drop the price to K95, 000 per bale.
Mr. Patel had supplied 850 bales of 2 kg packets of sugar and 500 bales of 1 kg packets which were being sold at K103, 000 per bale on Saturday.
What is wrong with Zambia, is it the land or leaders? Sugar should be sold at K2,500 not K20,000. Yet the government boast of an economic boom??? What did the government do, tell the sugar companies to stop exporting sugar. Damn that is simple economics. That will only hike sugar prices in ther very long run than they think.
i have mentioned several times that as long as we dont partner with these investors we going no where as a nation. these investors are interested in making huge profits and not necessarily the well being of zedians. elsewhere where governments have partnered with investors there has been quicky development, eg china and india etc.
but ifintu pa zed fyali dula. K9000 for 2kg sugar…iye!!!
SOLWEZI BUSINESS MEN ARE SUPER CRAZI
WHY SHOULD THEY BE SELLING SUGAR AT 20,000 KWACHA
THEY ARE VERY VERY MAD
how come that in zambia a lot of things are more expensive than in developed countries? i dont understand this.
Not only sugar. Cement is also expensive. Sold from the plant at less than K45,000 VAT inclusive and sold to poor builders at more than K70,000.