Relief as rice prices decrease

Dar es Salaam. Rice prices, both retail and wholesale, have started to fall in various markets in the city, this is thanks to ongoing harvests of the commodity in different parts of the country.</p></div><div><p>A random survey by The Citizen in different markets in the city this week has shown that there has been an increase in the supply of the commodity.

The survey found that the wholesale prices for a 100-kilo bag of rice has gone down to Sh160,000 as of May 16 from Sh220,000 recorded on April 16, this year.

This has resulted in the decrease of the average retail prices to around Sh2,000 per kilo from around Sh3,000 per kilo recorded in April this year.

Mr Peter Kato, a retailer and wholesaler of grains, including rice at Temeke-Double Cabin Market in Dar es Salam told The Citizen that the volume of rice he received over the past two weeks has increased.

“I current receive up to 300 bags of rice a day compared to less than 150 bags during the past months,” Mr Kato, who manages 41 stores of grain in Temeke, said.

Tandika-Market chairman Mohamed Mwekya said the fall of pries happens between May and July every year, but price harvested last year continue to remain high.

“People (hotel and small restaurant owners) prefer old rice than the new one that is why sellers raise prices for them,” he said.

“Most of our rice in the city originates from upcountry, especially Kyela District, Mbeya Region, Morogoro and Shinyanga,” he said.

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic Review for April showed that prices of rice decreased by 0.4 per cent in March to Sh185,735 per 100 kilos from Sh186,509 recorded in February this year.

However, on annual basis, the commodity price increased by 8.1 per cent in March from Sh171,760 recorded in March 2017.

Source: The Citizen

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