Zimbabwe retailers warn of shutdowns due to exchange rate distortions

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Companies like TM Pick n Pay, OK, Halsteads, Electrosales, Edgars, and Metro Peach are warning that they may be forced to shut down due to exchange rate distortions and strict enforcement measures by the central bank.

The retailers are being forced to use the official exchange rate, which is US$1 to ZiG14.8, but manufacturers are using parallel market rates of up to ZiG31 in some cases.

The Retailers Association of Zimbabwe said, “Suppliers of goods and services into the formal retail sector are now maintaining two tier price lists for local currency and another for foreign currency – whose implied rates are way higher than the obtaining official exchange rate… Our suppliers have expressed concern that they are faced with an acute foreign currency shortage and excessive volatility of ZiG exchange rates on the parallel/alternative market which has now become the basis of their pricing framework.”

This has caused retailers “massive losses,” and they’re trying to lessen the impact by making steep USD price increases. However, this leads to real USD inflation creep and other economic and social problems.

The retailers are proposing to let the ZiG float freely to allow a “market determined exchange rate” and implement a pricing model that reflects real-time market exchange rate fluctuations.

They also want to offer discounts for customers buying in forex to attract payments in foreign currency.

The situation is clearly untenable, and the retailers are calling for policy measures to protect the formal retail sector.

The gold-backed ZiG, which was introduced in April, has lost almost 80 percent of its value on the black market, and the central bank has injected US$64 million into the foreign exchange market to address dollar demand.

The retailers are hoping for a solution soon to avoid company closures.