Rwandans have to dig deeper into their pockets to meet the cost of bread and pastries, whose prices have risen.
Rwandans have to dig deeper into their pockets to meet the cost of bread and pastries, whose prices have risen.
A mini-survey by Rwanda Today shows that a loaf of bread now costs at least Rwf 1,500 up from Rwf 1,200 while the price of a small doughnut is now Rwf 150 compared to Rwf 100.
“On my way home every evening, I buy a loaf of bread for breakfast, but these days as the bread price has risen, I have started adopting other methods of doing my breakfast," Murwanashyaka Bienvenu, a resident in Kigali city told Rwanda Today.
"For example," he continued, "We prepare more food in the evening to have some left for breakfast.
It is sad I have to shift to that but what else can I do?” he asked. Manufacturers and retailers of bread attribute the increment to increase in international prices of the raw material wheat fuelled by a shortage due to the pandemic. This is in addition to a prolonged drought season in some countries that produce wheat.
“We were obliged to increase prices of wheatbased products so that we do not incur losses but we hope it will not last for long," said Farjallah from Azam, one the firms that produce wheat grain-based products.
“The raising of the wheat flour prices is mainly due to the rise of the wheat grain on the international market and other impacts of Covid-19 in general. Those directly affect the production costs and hence the rise in the price of wheat flour," he added.
He said that the Ministry of Commerce is aware of the situation and hoped wheat grain prices will reduce in months to come.
However, there is also quality concern as some small businesses have started mixing maize and wheat flour in their baking to cut costs.