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Esinathy Sibanda/Kudzai Chikiwa, Chronicle Reporters
THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president, Mr Denford Mutashu, has said the price hikes are due to the shortage of foreign currency leading to supply constraints experienced by both producers and distributors in the country.

Over the past 10 days the country has experienced an escalation of speculative tendencies on the retail market.

Prices of most products have gone up by over 50 percent and they continue to rise and this has seriously eroded the incomes of ordinary workers who are finding it hard to survive on their lean wages.

Mr Mutashu, however, said the price hikes were temporary and that the market will self-correct as it has always done before.

“The US dollar is now scarce and not much is being produced locally. As a result, companies are converting their bond notes to US dollars at a higher rate. Manufacturers experience a hidden cost. They have to recover those costs along the chain. The end user is the one that feels it all,” said Mr Mutashu.

Unscrupulous retailers are using the three-tier pricing system to swindle customers as there are prices of those who use the US$, the bond and those who use electronic transfers. In most cases those who use the electronic transfers are made to pay a premium.

Mr Mutashu said Government should be pro-active and take care of any glitches to reduce the exorbitant price hikes. He urged consumers not to panic as the CZR is on the ground working with relevant stakeholders to ensure dual pricing and unreasonable price hikes is corrected.