The Mecanhelas district has seen higher prices for products in recent days, leaving the impoverished population even more burdened. Almost every day, consumers are surprised by price hikes on essential products. These include soap, cooking oil, sugar, rice, and other locally sourced items.
Our report interviewed several shoppers at the central market in the village of Insaca on the morning of Thursday (16), who confirmed the high costs. “We used to buy soap for 45 to 50 meticais, now it’s 100; oil used to cost 190, now it’s 300 meticais; sugar was 75, now it’s 90; rice, which we used to buy for 650, now costs 800 meticais,” said Agnes Paulo, a shopper.
Rafael Andson, another shopper, said “For the past week or two, we’ve been suffering from the rise in prices of essential products, we are very worried, and we don’t understand where this is going. Even the bran that people used to eat has gone up,” he lamented. Citizens say that the high prices are suffocating them, especially at a time when families are facing a food crisis, and they are calling for the authorities' intervention.
“Life is very difficult, we are in bad shape; life is tough, they must see this situation and make real changes. The suffering belongs to the population because they don’t have the financial means to buy,” they cried. In turn, vendors justify the price increase by the cost of sourcing the products.
Some link the situation to the political and social crisis the country is undergoing post-elections “Yes, the price change started after the increase. Most of us bring products from Nampula, so there the prices also went up,” explained Joaquim Bamussa, a vendor in the village of Insaca.
"Due to these days of protests,
products are no longer available in the factories," said a Bengali
national merchant, explaining the reasons for the price hikes. The rise in
prices is also evident in construction materials. Cement, for example, which a
few days ago cost between 600 and 620 meticais, now costs 700 meticais. (Jaime
Paculeque)
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