The black market for basic commodities has emerged once again in the capital as speculators take advantage of the current shortages in the official market, Zimbabwean officials said Thursday.

Some people had already started selling cooking oil and sugar, which are in short supply, on the black market at inflated prices.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce President Luxon Zembe said on Thursday that low capacity utilization in industries was the major problem causing the shortage of basic commodities.

"Capacity utilization is very low in industries due to a critical shortage of foreign currency," Zembe said.

Although the black market for the commodities had stopped in other areas in the past two years following the introduction of various measures by the government and the central bank, the practice is threatening to come back, compounded by the drought and foreign currency shortages.

Zembe said once industries fail to produce enough commodities, shortages emerge and people start panic buying and hoarding, which in turn fuels the black market.

He said the problem creating food shortages was foreign currency shortages.

Retailers started increasing sharply prices of most basic commodities over the weekend, causing many people to hoard the commodities as rumor was spreading that more price increases would come after the election held on Thursday last week.

Source: Xinhua