Burundian government boasts the availability of food nationwide despite soaring prices.
While presenting trimestrial achievements on Monday the 9th of May, 2022, the ministry of agriculture and livestock vented to have been achieved food accessibility countrywide.
“We are delighted that Burundi is among few countries worldwide that can feed itself via its local production”, said Deo Guide Rurema, the ministry of Agriculture and of livestock.
However, for the past months prices highed up to 200%, these include first commodities such as rice, maize and beans.
Princes of beans almost doubled from BIF 1400 to BIF 2600 a kilogram. As for rice it went from BIF 1400 to BIF 3000, as of maize flour it jumped from the BIF900 to BIF 2100 in less than a six month period.
“On the market, everything has become expensive. With BIF 5000 it is impossible to feed one’s family”, said A.N a mother of two found at Ruvemera Market.
Moans and groans have flipped put on customers and retailers.
“Today, it costs an arm and a leg get products, farmers have been crying foul over expensive materials which govern changing prices”, said P.N fruit retailer found at Ruvumera Market.
Yet, some products went missing or are delivered occasionally including sugar, ndagala fish, and cement.
Experts converge on demand and offer law, but hint on a lack of competitiveness in various fields.
“The government should ease and avail an an attractive business environment to mitigate the existing monopole”, said Gabriel Rufyiri president of OLUCOME a watchdog association.
For him, products rarified because sometimes these manufacturers are overwhelmed, squandered, or corrupted.
“A country cannot have only one main company that controls everything as the case of sugar, cement, or cooking oil”, he said.
Economists, on their side, call on the government to multiply effort to slow down the speed on which process have been sky-crapping over.
The call that the government says it has taken into consideration.
“We are conducting a series of studies to expand existing factories and equip them to enable them satisfy the demand”, said Rurema.
The examples mentioned were SOSUMO, FOMI and BUCECO respectively sugar, fertilizers, and cement manufacturers.
To date, he added, the government has been encouraging Burundian to join forces through cooperatives and effectively using available resources.
Recent data released by ISTEEBU, the national entity in charge of statistics show that as of February food prices could not stop soaring in view of the preceding month.
In February 2022, commodity prices grew by 1.5% compared with January 2022, the report reads apart.
Also, in the three months to February 2022, product prices rose by 3.7% compared with the previous quarter, when they rose by 2.0%.
The bulletin reported that, in terms of year-on-year changes, agricultural product prices rose by 6.4% in February 2022, compared with 4.7% in the previous month.
Abuco, an association of consumers alarms over the capacity of the population vis-à-vis of the up-hiking prices.
“The government should draw their attention to the ableness Burundian and react accordingly”, said Noel Nkurunziza, the president of Abuco.
