Rice, Fish…Importation Exigencies Pushes Price Hike

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Rice, Fish…Importation Exigencies Pushes Price Hike

23 avril 2019 18:33

Consumers are experiencing an increase in the prices of these commodities in markets across the country thereby bearing the cat of the extra cost incurred by importers.

Consumers of basic food stuff in Cameroon are yet to come to terms with the increase of these commodities especially frozen fish and rice, which is a staple meal in most households. The persistent price hike decried by consumers’ rights associations led to the concertation meeting between importers on the one hand and officials of the Ministry of Trade as well as consumers’ associations on the other hand, last March 20 in Yaounde. The homologated prices adopted after the consultations has hardly been respected in the markets as consumers are still confronted with the price surge. Pundits and even officials of the Ministry of Trade acknowledged after the meeting that implementation of the homologated prices might be difficult in the field given other considerations such as transportation cost. Other factors related to importation exigencies also explain the hike. During the March 20 concertation meeting between actors in the sectors and the government, importers highlighted difficulties linked to price hikes which includes amongst others foreign exchange discrepancies, delay in clearing goods from the seaport and increase of customs declaration charges from 1.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent. All of these incidentally affects the cost of importation and consequently the price. Rice being a major staple widely consumed in all parts of the country, is in high demand especially with the current security and humanitarian situation in some parts of the country. In 2017, ric...