There is a high likelihood that we will further increase the price to around US$1.20.

Retailers like Food World, Choppies, Pick n’ Pay, OK and others, were already selling bread at around US$1.15 before Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube introduced a value-added tax (VAT) of 15 percent on goods.

Businesses are rounding off their prices to the nearest whole figure, and some are increasing their prices by a dollar, which exceeds the 15 percent VAT. They cite difficulties in providing change since some are exclusively charging their commodities in United States dollars. To address the change issue, some retailers are now giving vouchers which customers can use later in that store. 

These price increases on bread and other goods are a result of the taxes outlined in the National Budget. It has caused challenges for both businesses and consumers, as the cost of living continues to rise.

It is not only bread!

The cost of every other commodity is going up. For instance, meat prices in Zimbabwe have increased. As we reported recently, Texas Chicken, a subsidiary of Associated Meat Packers that specializes in chicken, is one of the companies that issued statements stating that their chicken prices have gone up. They claim that their prices remained the same, but they have added the VAT. 

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