RESIDENTS in Sumbawanga municipality in Rukwa region breathe a sigh of relief following a sharp decline in food prices thanks to a bumper harvest.
A random survey by the ‘Daily News’ revealed that the price of 100 kilogramme sack of maize has gone down by almost half to 70,000/- from the previous 120,000/- while a kilo of rice dropped to 2,200/- from between 3000/- and 3,300/-.
Yohani Jailos (49), from Malangali ward in Sumbawanga said that his family could now afford two meals a day after prices of food declined.
“Food commodities prices have declined to enable us from poor families to afford two meals a day,” he said.
Equally, the retail prices of a litre of edible sunflower cooking oil was sold half price at between 5,000/- and 6,000/- yesterday down from 10,000/- before the harvest.
The declined price of sunflower cooking oil was attributed to suitable rains that have favoured crop farming in the region in this year farming.
“Most of the sunflower cooking oil buyers who fled due to high prices are now coming back,” Ms Anastazia Samweli, who earns her living by selling cooking oil at Izia Ward, said.
Currently, the country’s annual demand for edible oil is estimated at 570,000 tonnes, while domestic production is only 200,000 tonnes annually, leaving a deficit of 300,000 tonnes which is covered by imports from mainly Malaysia and Singapore.
