The Mozambican Association of Bakers (AMOPAO) recently put on the table a proposal to increase the price of bread from 10 to 12 Meticais due to the rising cost of acquisition of the main raw material, wheatfrom 1,650 to 2,100 Meticais per 50-kilo bag.

This increase in the cost of acquiring wheat on the international market was due to the appreciation of the dollar, but with the sudden appreciation of the Metical between April and mid-May, as well as the government's negotiation with the millers, the price of wheat dropped from the then 2,100 to between 1,750 and 1,800 Meticais a 50-kilogram bag.

This caused the price of the 160-gram loaf to remain at ten Meticais. "Although the cost of wheat did not go down to the initial price of 1,650 Meticais, this reduction was the reason we decided to keep it," explained Victor Miguel, president of AMOPAO.

Notwithstanding the maintenance of the cost of this cereal, it is noted that some bakeries have readjusted the table, increasing one or two Meticais.

For Victor Miguel, the readjustments made by some bread producers are not in line with the association's purposes nor are they the result of orientations that it has been making in the regular meetings that the bakers have been having with the Government.

He explains that these are isolated cases, just as there are bakeries that have reduced their prices.

"We have also had problems with retailers who often purchase the bread at low cost, but then resell it very expensive to the end consumer," the interviewee points out.

For this reason, Victor Miguel recommends that consumers buy bread at bakeries, because, besides being cheaper, it has better hygiene conditions.