The coronavirus scare, which continues to slow down the global
economy, has led to drastic increase in prices of basic commodities in
Lango Sub-region and Moyo District.
A mini-survey conducted by Daily
Monitor in local markets and retail shops in Lira, Dokolo, Moyo and
Alebtong towns on Friday indicated that the prices of beans, salt, Irish
potatoes, sugar, rice and others have more than doubled.
The
commodity with the highest price hike is salt. In Lira Town, the price
of a sachet of salt has increased from Shs600 to Shs,1500, a factor
traders attributed to decrease in supply.
Mr Patrick Bagonza, a
wholesale trader, said: “Currently, there is no salt in stock in the
whole of Lira Town and yet it is the business centre for Lango
Sub-region. There is no supply because we are told that all factories in
Kenya have been shut down.”
Mr Boniface Okello, a retail trader in
Kole District, said a carton of salt that they used to buy at Shs35,000
has now increased to between Shs64,000 and Shs72,000.
“It is quite
expensive now. I am lucky that I arrived in Lira Town early on Friday
morning. Those buying it this [last Friday] evening will pay Shs72,000,”
he said.
Salt most affected
In Dokolo, a
carton of salt has increased from Shs35,000 to Shs80,000, while a sachet
that used to be sold at Shs600 has increased to between Shs2,500 and
Shs3,000.
In Alebtong, a sachet of salt in local markets costs
between Shs2,500 and Shs3,000. Mr Anna Akome, a resident of Elupe
Village, Aloi Sub-county in Alebtong, said the government should come
out with a fixed price of basic commodities.
“It would be better if
the government regulated the prices of all commodities during this hard
time. In the village here, we hardly get such amount of money,” she
said.
In March last year, Uganda Development Bank (UDB) announced it
had finalised plans to redevelop Katwe salt industry. Katwe salt
industry, which was an industrial anchor for many industries in western
Uganda, suffered stagnation in the early 1970s during the Idi Amin
regime. Today, Uganda spends billions of shillings on salt imports.
In
Moyo Main Market, prices for most essential commodities such as rice,
sugar, onions and sweet potatoes have more than doubled.
Mr Isaac Nyuma, a resident of Moyo Town, said, “the high prices have left me disappointed.”
“The
one kilogramme of rice I bought at Shs2,500 about three days ago is now
Shs4,500. The prices of onions [local] are also up,” he said.
Ms Juliet Raleo, a resident, predicted a higher increase in prices of basic commodities.
“Let
government come out clearly to address the issue of prices in our
market. Otherwise, people will start dying because of lack of food
instead of coronavirus,” Ms Raleo said.
Locally grown food crops such
as Irish and sweet potatoes were also increasingly getting scarce,
leading to a hike in their prices.
However, Mr Charles Mindra, a
resident of Moyo Town, said the prices have gone up because of panic
buying. “I think we should stop such unnecessary shopping for our own
sake,” he said.
Mr Goffin Gore, the Moyo deputy Resident District
Commissioner, appealed to the public to remain calm and observe the
Ministry of Health guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“We
have a negative attitude towards hand washing but now is the time to be
more careful. We should always wash our hands and government is doing
its best to normalise the situation,” Mr Gore said.
Africa outlook
Prices
for basic food staples are rising in Africa as shoppers stock on
essentials amid the coronavirus scare. Across the continent, people are
calling for governments to intervene. Rwanda last Monday fixed prices
for 17 food items, including rice, sugar and cooking oil. But it did not
specify punishments for price-gouging. In Kenya, authorities have
relied on appeals to traders to curb speculation. They have also warned
traders against hoarding goods.
