The Ministry of Industries, Trade and Marketing has issued directives on
people involved in the food products industry and buyers to seek out
information given by the ministry in order to ensure that they make no
errors in sales and purchasing decisions.
The Communication Department of the ministry says it has prepared
information for use by traders in city markets and elsewhere, meant to
provide indications on prices and contain price fluctuations of various
commodities at the Kariakoo market.
“Price fluctuations tend to erupt unevenly, and disturbs the flow of
purchases and orders when buyers notice unexpected price changes, hence
asking for government assistance to contain the situation,” a ministerial
official stated.
The ministry notes however that the government is not involved in pricing as
that is left to open market mechanisms, but it can provide timely
information thorough the media, brochures and direct contacts with
businesses on prices and price trends, he said.
Ministerial information also relates to quality issues, for instance in
relation to weights and measures in which certain products especially crops
are supposed to be sold, he said.
Part of the problem relates to pricing of farmers’ crops by use of
overfilled tins known as ‘lumbesa,’ which some ministerial officials have
been saying it exploits the peasants. Some district authorities even moved
to ban the practice in order to save the farmer, while the move did not go
down well with farmers as it reduces their bargaining power with customers.
There are also some surprising price changes arising from short supply of
some produce during transitional seasonal periods, for instance at the
Buguruni market a bag of onions was being sold for 180,000/- while the usual
price was 50,000/-. A bag of cabbage had shot up to 150,000/- from about
70,000/- earlier, a survey indicated.
Some traders at the market said that price fluctuation of onions had led to
fewer buyers, worsening conditions for traders who depend on selling the
onions. It was unclear if there was export pressure or monopoly buyers
capable of raising prices, and marginalizing ordinary users who can’t change
their onward prices for instance raising food prices in eating outlets, a
trader noted.