Bakeries reduce bread production

Bakeries in the capital Harare and nearby Chitungwiza reduced their production of bread on Monday, citing massive operational losses as a result of the statutory price controls introduced by the government last week, the 'Daily News' said.

A survey conducted by the newspaper on Tuesday showed that a number of outlying shops did not have bread because there were no deliveries, while others said they had run out of flour and could no longer afford the high costs. The bakers were quoted as saying that they were resisting the new prices, threatening to close their operations if the price controls were not reversed. They argued that the new prices will make their businesses unviable, effectively pushing them out of business.

Collin Gwiyo, the acting secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), described the manner in which the government introduced price controls last week as "catastrophic" and predicted massive job losses. "Price controls are necessary but the manner in which they were implemented is catastrophic," said Gwiyo. "As a result, many jobs will be lost as companies try to keep within their budgets. Price controls should have come in the form of food subsidies to cushion companies against the skyrocketing costs of importing raw materials such as wheat."

Last week the government introduced price controls on maize meal, margarine, beef, pork, sugar, chicken, soap, salt and fresh milk.