Illovo Sugar Malawi says the recommended retail price for sugar is K900 and the company has warned traders against selling the product at a higher price.
Speaking yesterday in Nsanje, Illovo Managing Director, Lekani Katandula, expressed concern that some traders are selling the product at prices above K900. In some shops in Lilongwe, traders are selling sugar at K1000 per one Kilogram packet.
Katandula warned such traders that consumers will boycott them if they continue selling sugar at prices that are not fair.
“We are seeing some elements of abuse in some areas where sugar is being sold above the recommended price which is not fair to our consumers. One thing we are sure of is that if the traders want to punish the consumers, the consumers will hit them back by not buying sugar from such traders.
The clarification over the price of sugar comes as prices of various basic goods have gone up in Malawi.
Commodities such as bread candles and cooking oil have seen sharp increases in prices over the past months. It is also expected that the government will hike the price of fuel this month.
The Tonse Alliance government has been blaming Covid-19 and more recently the Russia-Ukraine war for the rise in prices.
Last week, Malawians in Zomba held protests over prices of goods and demanded government to address the economic crisis within a week.
