Chibuku popular despite price hike

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Correspondent | Wednesday April 11, 2007 00:00

 

BBL General Manager Jeremy Melvin said in a telephone interview that they were expecting a reaction from their customers in the short term. He was, however, hoping the reaction would not be sustained.

'It's like any other commodity - fuel or maize. Chibuku is no exception,' he said.
But Melvin was confident that Chibuku beer would not lose its popularity, saying the beer was the most nutritious beverage on the market.

The increase, which came into effect on April 1, raises the wholesale price of Shake Shake - as the beer is affectionately known - from P2.20 to P2.45 per litre. But the passionate consumers of this 'traditional' beer can expect their favourite drink to even exceed the P3.00 mark in retail.

Melvin said they had not increased their price for two years: 'During that time we had to absorb the costs for the benefit of our valued customers.

'But there comes a time when you cannot continue to do that any more. Prices of packaging material, especially, have gone up significantly over the same period.

The price of sorghum and maize, which are two of the main ingredients in our production line, have also gone up tremendously,' Melvin explained.

For some Chibuku guzzlers like a man who identified himself only as Max of Maruapula in Gaborone, the latest price increaseof the beer is not a problem.

'Some people think that we Chibuku drinkers drink like fish.

That's a serious misconception. Four litres of the good stuff are enough for a good tippler's day. I don't really spend much, unless I allow others to 'milk' me,' says Max.
Chibuku beer is a prime product of BBL. At a time when the inflation rate was at its highest for a long time (2006 October's 10.2 percent), the price of the popular drink - stable as it was - put some pressure on the pockets of its consumers.