Yaounde

Gov’t worries over food prices
The government of Cameroon is worried that Yaounde dwellers are already spending more on daily needs since the increase in fuel prices which took effect on Tuesday 1 July 2014. The increase in fuel price has had the domino effect of increasing transport fares which has in turn led to an increase in food prices.
    Food prices have increased in Yaounde because local markets are supplied daily with perishable foodstuff by commuters from rural markets, sometimes as faraway as the North West region. When traders spend much on transportation, they pass on the cost to the consumer by increasing the cost of the good. This is easy to do since the price of farm produce is not stable, but varies with the seasons.

There is even less foodstuff entering Yaounde this week. A cashier at one of the transport companies in Yaounde, Huku Abdukarim told us that their colleagues in Bamenda have reported that huge amounts of farm produce bound for Yaounde have been abandoned in their storehouse. The foodstuff, said Abdukarim, is rotting away because the traders who had wanted to transport them to Yaounde cannot do so at the present rates. A bag of stuff like corn which used to be transported to Yaounde at 3000 francs is now done at 4000 francs, while the fare for a bag of vegetables is now 2500 from the initial 1500francs. The homogenous 1000 francs increase for both passengers and goods was agreed on by the syndicate of transporters plying that road.
    In an attempt to avert an escalation of the situation, Cameroon’s minister of trade Luc Magloire Atangana visited some local markets to dissuade traders from increasing the prices of basic goods. At the Mvog Mbi, Essos, Biyem Assi and Mfoundi markets where he met traders, the minister warned that any arbitrary price increase will meet with sanctions.
    The government’s effort to maintain current food prices may go well for processed, packaged and imported foodstuff like canned tomato, sardine and imported rice. Their real challenge is to maintain the price of locally produced perishables. This is because they are not sold in standard units but in quantities that suit the customer’s demand, and also because their prices fluctuate more often than other goods.
    The announcement of a general increase in fuel prices came last Monday 30 June 2014. The increase is the result of the reduction of government’s subsidy on fuel consumption, which saw a litre of petrol rising to 650frs from 569frs. Cooking gas has also gone up to 6500frs from the initial 600frs, while gasoil now sells for 600frs up from 520frs. The price of Kerosene remained unchanged.
    It is worthy to mention that government has only reduced the amount previously spent on subsidy on petroleum. Part of this money would now be diverted to finance investment and social projects that will benefit the majority of Cameroonians, especially the poor masses.
    Other measures by government to contain the situation include a reduction in some transport taxes and an impending increase in salaries and the minimum wage.