Some Lusaka retailers have called on government to give them time to sell the mealie meal they have in stock before they can reduce the prices.
President Edgar Lungu last week demanded that millers who bought subsidised maize from the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) should reduce the price of mealie meal.
The President said it is unacceptable for the price of the staple food to continue skyrocketing when some millers’ cost of production is subsidised by Government.
But some traders talked to by Money FM News crew have said if millers reduce their order prices following the President’s announcement, they will not reduce until they finish what is in the stock.
The retailers have said they ordered their mealie meal at about K98 and K80 per 25kg bag of breakfast and roller mealie meal respectively, and that if they reduced the prices, they will be operating at a loss.
They have said they are making K13 profit per bag.
Meanwhile the retailers have also disclosed that roller meal is been sold at a faster rate compared to breakfast as it is going at K75 and K80.
Breakfast is been sold at K100 to K120 per bag depending on the brands which has made most consumers to be buying roller meal.