The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ), has written to the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) asking for permission to be allowed to set the prices of the goods that they produce.
GMAZ chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara said that if they are given the approval, the move will be in the best interests of consumers. Musarara said:
The impact of the pricing of our products to the national inflation basket computation is significant, as they are necessities that every citizen has an inalienable constitutional right to their access and consumption.
The absence of a collective price review (mechanisms) will result in unrestrained price hikes, the creation of serious and severe inflationary pressures, food insecurity and
subsequently, social unrest.The government makes subsidy interventions to stabilise the prices of maize meal and flour (by extension bread). In order to ensure that these subsidies benefit end consumers, it is imperative that the manufacturers collectively review their cost drivers and align their margins so that the final retail prices are not subjected to the vices of profiteering, especially in times of scarcity.