Tanzania retailers want sugar importers investigated

Dar es Salaam. Sugar retailers and consumers want the government to take to task importers whom they are accusing of being behind the high prices of the commodity in the market.

Prices of a kilogramme of sugar continued to be sold to consumers at higher prices than those announced by the government on Thursday, according to a market survey yesterday.

In interviews with The Citizen, most retailers said while they had heard of the indicative price list by the government, they could not lower prices at which they were selling sugar due to the cost at which they were buying the same from wholesalers.

A section of wholesalers separately told The Citizen that sugar manufacturers who enjoyed the import facility should be scrutinized over the cost of the commodity and the price at which they offloaded the imports to the market.

“We continue to buy sugar from some stockists who are agents of the sugar manufactures at Sh130,000 for a-50kg-bag which means that if you factor our profit margins and that of retailers, the end price would definitely be higher than the indicative prices,” explained one wholesaler in the city.

Some wholesalers said the government should explain why the 50kgs bag was fetching Sh130,000 instead of around Sh90,000 from the manufactures and their stockists. “By this price, the importers and their agents are making super profits of up to 40 per cent at the expense of hapless consumers,” said the wholesaler who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the business.

Other sources told The Citizen that there have not been any changes in sugar import levies or taxes, meaning the cost of importing and clearing a-50kg-bag of sugar was around Sh90,000. “A good profit return should see the same not costing beyond Sh95,000 for the same quantity,” he explained. He added that the main problem was with the manufacturers and challenged the sugar board and the fair competition commission to zero in on the real culprits. “At what price are the manufacturers importing and selling the sugar to their agents? This is the question that no one wants to answer but is the source of all the trouble in the market.”

Efforts by The Citizen since early in the week to reach out to the importers have been futile as officials do not want to speak on the matter. The sugar board as well as the fair completion commission have separately issued statements blaming alleged hoarding for the hike in retail prices of sugar.

A day after the government issued the indicative prices, a survey in the market in various parts of Dar es Salaam including Bahari-Beach, Mbezi-Luis, Tabata and Kindondoni showed prices were still the same hiked ones. A 25kgs bag of sugar sold at Sh75,000 from Sh50,000 a month ago.

Some retail stores sold one kilogram for between Sh3200 to Sh3500, way beyond the indicative price. Shopkeepers told The Citizen yesterday that wholesale prices remained high and that the commodity was also in short supply.

The Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) announced that a kilogramme of sugar should retail at between Sh2,600 and Sh3,200 depending the location.

“Even we are keen to see the price drop because customers are complaining and others believed we are the ones raising prices to make a profit,” a shopkeeper at Mbezi Luis, Mr Atanasi Mrema, said. He said he had run out of stock and would wait to see if wholesalers would follow the government directive.

SBT director general Prof Kennedy Bengesi told The Citizen that the government has already spoken about price of sugar that must go down.

“What remains now is a crackdown on people who are still selling sugar against the indicated prices,” said Prof Bengesi.

At Tegeta, Timotheo Nyamulundwa said the government order to sell a kilo for Sh2600 could not be attained as he was buying a 50kgs bag for Sh150,000. “This is why we retailers continue selling the product at Sh3,500 per kilo so as to generate a profit Sh200-Sh300 per kilo. He said wholesalers should not exceed the Sh120,000 per 50kgs bag.

At Kinondoni Studio, Digna Lasway said customers were now forcing them to sell sugar at the government price without considering the challenges posed by wholesalers and the importers.

Additional reporting by Gadiosa Lamtey