Delta Zimbabwe, the country’s largest supplier of beverages has pulled a shocker today after announcing that it will no longer be accepting any form of electronic transactions for all its products including soft drinks and beers, citing that it will only be accepting the scarce hard currency with effect from this Friday, January 4th 2019.

This is a major blow to beer guzzlers and soft drink lovers who will now have to part away with their scarce hard earned currency to access the company’s products.

Delta cited foreign currency challenges as having influenced its decision to demand the hard cash.

In a statement Delta management said,”Our business has been adversely affected by the prevailing shortages of foreign currency, resulting in the company failing to meet your orders and in the case of soft drinks, being out of stocks for a prolonged periods.

“The new fiscal and monetary policy framework in place since October 2018, does not provide for easy access to foreign currency by non exporters.

“The company has only received limited foreign currency allocations from the banking channels, which have not been adequate to fund the import requirements.

“Resultantly all our foreign suppliers are unable to continue providing credit or meet new orders as some of them have not been paid for extended periods.

” In order to sustain in operations, the company advises the retail and wholesalers outlets that its products will be charged in hard currency with effect from Friday January 4 2019. ”

The move is likely to promote the three tier pricing system as those without the hard cash are likely to be forced to pay higher prices for the products.

This decision will be catastrophic to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government which remunerates its workers in the electronic form.

We publish the full company statement below:

2. January 2019

Dear Customer

PAYMENT OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN HARD CURRENCY

Our business has been adversely affected by the prevailing shortages of foreign currency, resulting in the company failing to meet your orders and in the case of soft drinks, being out of stock for prolonged periods. The new fiscal and monetary policy framework in place since October 2018, does not provide for easy access to foreign currency by non-exporters. The Company has only received limited foreign currency allocations from the banking channels, which have not been adequate to fund the import requirements. Resultantly all our foreign suppliers are unable to continue providing credit or meet new orders as some of them have not been paid for extended periods.

In order to sustain its operations, the Company advises the retail and wholesale customers that its products will be charged in hard currency with effect from Friday 4th January 2019. It is noted that:

1. Our products are fairly priced in USD and have remained largely unchanged since 2013.

2. The Company has invested in excess of US$600 million in plant and equipment, vehicles and ancillary services since 2009. There is need to protect this investment and ensure sustenance of all value chain partners.

3. The prices of local materials and services have escalated both in USD and in RTGS (ostensibly in response to the foreign currency exchange rates).

4. The company does not trade on the parallel or black market and does not subscribe to any exchange rate between the USD and the RTGS or Bond Notes, as they are not currencies.

5. There is need for wider consultation on policy interventions to build consensus and market confidence among stakeholders to stabilise the macroeconomic environment.

We attach our current price list and recommended retail prices, which are all in US Dollars. We trust that our customers will continue to charge the recommended retail prices in USD or equivalent currencies based on the multi-currency framework.

Yours Sincerely
Delta Management