30 November 2007
Maputo — Mozambican government officials have begun a series of meetings with suppliers in order to prepare the forthcoming festive season, and ensure that it passes off without shortages and without speculation.
On Friday, business people met with the Minister of Industry and Trade, Antonio Fernando, and other senior officials to assess the availability of goods.
The Maputo General Union of Cooperatives (UGC) assured the meeting that it will place 400,000 chickens (live and frozen) on the market. Its frozen chickens will cost 73 meticais (about three US dollars) each, while the live ones will cost between 75 and 83 meticais, depending on weight.
The company Procongel pledged that it will provided "sufficient" quantities of frozen fish, chicken and beef, but did not state exactly what it means by "sufficient".
Procongel representative Anton Grobler warned that these products would cost more than last year, since the prices in the foreign markets where the company obtains its meat and fish have risen.
The country's largest food processing company, the Companhia Industrial de Matola (CIM), promised that wheat flour, maize flour and animal feed would all be available.
Cervejas de Mocambique (Beers of Mozambique - CDM) promised that stocks of beer would not run out. Consumers will be wary of such promises: CDM said the same thing last year, but clearly underestimated the thirst of the Mozambican public, since acquiring beer became a serious problem for anyone organising a party.
CDM manager Jose Moreira said that his company was guaranteeing the conditions to supply the market. The breweries would be working in four shifts in order to step up production and productivity.
However, not all the companies invited bothered to show up. The most noteworthy absentee was the Mozambican branch of the Coca- Cola company, and it is thus not clear whether the demand for soft drinks will be met.
After hearing the various promises from the businesses, Fernando announced that everything is in place for a festive season without any supply problems. But he urged consumers to make their purchases in good time. so that they could buy quality produce at accessible prices. (But the problem with such exhortations is that most waged workers will only receive their December wages a couple of days before Xmas).
Fernando also urged citizens to denounce dishonest behaviour by shopkeepers, such as the sale of goods past their expiry dates.
Likewise, he urged traders not to hike their prices merely because Xmas was approaching.
He promised that his ministry's inspectors will be active, working with inspectors from other areas, such as the Health Ministry.
"Offenders will be severely punished", he warned. "We shall have inspection brigades visiting all warehouses and shops".
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
