Consumers seek options to cope with soaring food prices

With a weeping baby cuddled at her back, she stoops to give the customer lemons from her worn-out basket. All she needs is money to buy other foodstuffs to feed her five children. Francine Mukamana, 35, a fruit hawker at Kimironko market is one of many other Rwandans feeling the punch of the food price increase with some reducing on consumption. “Things have changed this year, food prices have increased yet money is still scarce. I have decided to reduce the amount of food that we eat at home,” she says.Rising prices of foodstuffs, electricity, water, gas and other fuels have largely been responsible for the rise in the country’s general inflation rate. “There are some foodstuffs my children are used to. Others like fruits are essential, I can’t forego them, what I do is to cut on my savings,” Jackline Murindabigwi, a mother of two, echoes as she tells her five year old daughter to put back mangoes the latter had dropped on to the shopping basket.Food prices began to rise at the beginning of December last year, stretching to February 2012 hence pushing the general annual inflation rate to 8.18 per cent in March from 7.85 per cent the previous month. However, the country witnessed an improvement in food production due to favourable weather, which slightly eased the cost early last month. “We are seeing that most inflation is driven by domestic factors, much of the inflation comes from the supply side like food and fuel,” Claver Gatete, Governor Central Bank, disclosed. Low income households opt to cut spending on other utilities to replenish their fast diminishing food basket.Lillian Iradukunda, a trader at Kimironko market, is optimistic that as prices go down, people would be able to shop enough for their families, noting that most of the consumers are unable to seek means to minimise on their food basket spending.“Some of the customers are used to taking everything, but they now opt to buy only mangoes instead of oranges and passion fruits. We at times try to help them make choices,” she says.Yet, Gatete believes that inflation would be cushioned through improved domestic production and efficient policy management where monetary and fiscal policies are well coordinated.“We are working with stakeholders to see how we can contain the situation,” Gatete assures.

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Consumers seek options to cope with soaring food prices