THE cost of living for an urban family of six increased by 0,8% to $567,03 last month pushed up mainly by rising cost of food, latest figures from the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) show.
Own Correspondent
September figures increased from $562,52 the previous month, showing that a majority of Zimbabweans can barely sustain themselves due to high unemployment.
Most civil servants and workers in the private sector earn less than $567 a month. In the period under review the food basket gained $4,11 to $154,58 by the end September while detergents increased by 3,07% from $13,05 to $13,45.
The increase in the food basket cost was pushed up by white sugar which gained 21 cents to $2,20, roller meal which increased by 2c to $12, meat (beef) by 53c to $4,38 per kilogramme and fresh milk which gained a cent 74 cents per 500ml.
“In the last three months beef has remained very expensive ranging around $4,30 to $4,50 per kg,” CCZ in a report said.
“Consumers’ choice is chicken and fish which are cheaper.”
Decreases in prices were recorded in margarine which went down by 5c to $2,25, cabbage by 9c from to $0,40 a head, rice by 6c to $2,04 a 2kg, flour shed 5c $1,84 a 2kg sachet and onions lost 10c to 85c a bundle.
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CCZ said decreases in cabbage and onions prices were attributed to the seasonal increase in supply in the market.
Prices of the other basic commodities including fuel, cooking oil, tea leaves, bread, salt, tomatoes, bath soap and washing powder remained unchanged from August 2013 figures.
CCZ urged consumers to shop wisely and to buy certified products and where products are not certified, to exercise their right to information by carefully examining if the products they are purchasing are well labelled, packaged and provided with vital information such as manufacturing and expiry dates and ingredients used in the products.
The consumer lobby group conducts this survey twice during the first and the last weeks of every month and total cost of the food basket and the price of each commodity are arrived at by averaging prices gathered from retail outlets throughout the country.
