Prices of the Angolan basic food basket decreased due to the Strategic Food Reserve

The Angolan Strategic Food Reserve (REA) has contributed “directly and notably” to the “reduction and stabilization” of the prices of basic food basket products in Angola, despite this phenomenon “not yet being widely felt” by Angolans.

Afrosondagem’s study on the impact of the REA on the behavior of basic food basket products in Angola, carried out between March 2022 and March 2023, indicates that prices have “reduced significantly” since its implementation on December 22, 2021.

Wholesale prices have fallen 29%, and retail prices have also dropped 31%, “representing a significant gain for the household budget.

Rice, corn, soy, sugar, and chicken are some of the products that make up the REA, whose operationalization, in charge of the private group Carrinho, began on December 22, 2021, an initiative of the Angolan government aiming to lower the prices of essential food products.

The study commissioned by the Entreposto Aduaneiro de Angola, the entity that coordinates REA, states that the “high decrease” of the prices of food products of the basic food basket in Angola “occurs in counter-cycle with a large increase in inflation levels and the prices of these products, worldwide.”

“Since the REA was launched, there has also been a positive conditioning of market operators, resulting in a more stable behavior, both in the supply of products and in the maintenance of prices,” the document reads.

The research included a survey of Angolan companies, carried out between April 5 and 8 in Luanda, Benguela, Huíla, Huambo, Cabinda, and Lunda Norte provinces, in a sample of 209 interviews.

As part of the study, a survey of Angolan households was also conducted between April 04 and 07 in the same provinces, totaling 825 interviews.

It also notes that data from the Angolan National Statistics Institute (INE) show a “sharp drop” in the monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of food and non-alcoholic beverages in the formation of the CPI, falling from 1.74%t in March 2022 to 0.79% in March 2023.

“Which represents a drop of more than 50%,” stresses the survey, noting that the price reduction “is still not much felt by Angolans.”

As for the reaction of Angolans, when asked how much they effectively paid for certain products in November 2021 and currently, notes the study, “all recognize that prices have decreased.”

But their perception, the survey argues, “is that prices have not decreased because they don’t feel it in their pockets, stating that probably the prices of the remaining goods and products have not decreased.”

“And because wages are not increasing, they find it increasingly difficult to buy the same amount of products,” it points out.

Business people “seem to be more satisfied” than Angolan families concerning knowledge and intervention of the REA.

According to the study, the survey results of Angolan families show that 70% of Angolans make purchases in informal markets, and 9% purchase in canteens.

The data also show that a significant percentage of Angolans “make purchases in a ‘partner’ system, that is, they associate with other buyers, to benefit from the lower unit prices charged by the stores.

“Usually, Angolans paid, on average, in the last 12 months, €17.5 for a box of 10 kilograms of chicken, when, in December 2021, they paid €18.6: this represents a reduction/savings of 12% in prices when compared to Christmas 2021,” the study also states.

With information from Lusa

News Angola, English news Angola, Angolan Strategic Food Reserve (REA)

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