Cross-border Price Differences between Maputo and Nelspruit
Price differences between Maputo and Nelspruit in South Africa have always fuelled concerns in both public and private domains. Prices in Maputo, the country’s major consumption market, are indeed significantly higher than those across the border.
The Support Program for Economic and Enterprise Development (SPEED) in partnership with the Confederation of Trade Associations (CTA), have commissioned a study to contribute to understanding these cross-border price differentials between Maputo and Nelspruit. The study collected and analyzed price data for eight commodities among staple and processed foods in the main retail stores in both Nelspruit and Maputo.
Preliminary results of the study confirm the existence of significant price differentials across all food products between Nelspruit and Maputo. Prices in Maputo are consistently higher than in Nelspruit, in some cases by more than 50 percent. Markups account for as much as 81 percent to 92 percent of the price difference for processed foods.