BUJUMBURA August 23rd (ABP) – Consumers of mineral water from KINJU are complaining about the exorbitant rise in prices of that product in recent days, according to the consumers met on the site.
In various places where mineral water is sold in detail, a check by ABP realized that a bottle of a liter and a half sells for two thousand Burundian francs while the usual price was 1500 BIF. When asked in detail in that article about the reasons for the price increase in recent days, traders explained that KINJU Company has also revised the purchase price upwards.
However, at the company KINJU, they found a note meaning that following the rise in the prices of raw materials used in the transformation of mineral water and their displacement, it is specified that a box of 4 bottles of 1.5 liters is bought at 4000 BIF when it was 3600 BIF, a box of 12 bottles of 0.6 liter is bought at 6500 BIF when it was 6000BIF.
For those going to stock up at the company, they told a check by ABP that they can wait longer than a week while on the waiting list to be served. The two most used packages are the only ones that the company has jacked up in price, they added.
Consumers said this is merchant speculation because if you analyze how much the company added, there wouldn’t be a significant impact on the retail consumer. Retailers explained that they buy a box of 4 bottles at 5500 BIF or 6000 BIF and this price varies according to the shortage. They also spoke about the shortage of mineral water from KINJU in recent days and those with stocks are selling at the right price. It is for this reason that a bottle is sold at 2000 BIF.
Consumers, for their part, accuse traders of speculation because if we do the calculation according to these consumers, the price of a bottle to society is 1000 BIF while the consumer buys twice as much. They don’t understand this circuit. They asked the company KINJU to contribute to the reduction of speculation which manifests itself especially in the dry season by fixing the price to the consumer and this in collaboration with the administration throughout the country. They also asked to increase the quantity to be produced since the consumers have become numerous.
