(Bloomberg) -- Tanzania restricted retail prices for sugar after local production of the sweetener fell due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The East African nation's sugar output is expected at just under 300,000 metric tons this year, well below annual demand of 470,000 tons, Agriculture Minister Japhet Hasunga said in a statement. Laws governing the industry give the minister “powers to set price controls,” Hasunga said, accusing traders of hoarding consignments to inflate prices.
The government set a maximum retail price of 2,600 shillings per kilogram ($1.13) in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam. The commodity will sell at a ceiling of between 2,600 shillings and 3,000 shillings per kilogram in other parts of the country.
President John Magufuli's administration dictated prices for sugar in previous years, but failed to enforce them.
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