Business / Companies
Bread shortages ruled out, prices drop
04 Aug 2016 at 08:51hrs | Views
The National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (NBAZ) has ruled out the possibility of bread shortages in the country.
Daily bread demand currently stands at 900 000 loaves with capacity utilisation of the bread industry of 50 percent.
Bread price has further dropped by 10 cents as most outlets are now charging 80cents.
The raw materials for the production of bread are imported mainly from neighbouring South Africa and China.
The suppliers of the raw materials are paid through transfers, which due to the depletion of nostro accounts, have experienced significant delays and consequently supply bottlenecks in many industries.
The central bank has listed payment for raw materials as a priority in its list released in May this year in order to manage available foreign currency supplies.
According to NBAZ president, Givemore Mesoemvura some producers have indicated that their suppliers had been waiting for payment to be effected for sometime due to transfer delays.
"We have had delays, but we are seeing an improvement in the situation. The area (of payment) has been managed and we are not likely to have bread shortages in the country. Even if we experience delays in the processing of payments, we have buffer stocks and we are well capable of keeping things running in the time being," Mesoemvura is quoted saying.
Daily bread demand currently stands at 900 000 loaves with capacity utilisation of the bread industry of 50 percent.
Bread price has further dropped by 10 cents as most outlets are now charging 80cents.
The raw materials for the production of bread are imported mainly from neighbouring South Africa and China.
The suppliers of the raw materials are paid through transfers, which due to the depletion of nostro accounts, have experienced significant delays and consequently supply bottlenecks in many industries.
The central bank has listed payment for raw materials as a priority in its list released in May this year in order to manage available foreign currency supplies.
According to NBAZ president, Givemore Mesoemvura some producers have indicated that their suppliers had been waiting for payment to be effected for sometime due to transfer delays.
"We have had delays, but we are seeing an improvement in the situation. The area (of payment) has been managed and we are not likely to have bread shortages in the country. Even if we experience delays in the processing of payments, we have buffer stocks and we are well capable of keeping things running in the time being," Mesoemvura is quoted saying.
Source - Byo24News
