MUEA MARKET

MOUNT FAKO NEWS CENTRE is using Muea market as the point of reference for tracking changes in the prices of commodities that the common person in Cameroon buys. We will calculate the consumer price index(a measure of the average price of consumer goods) for the food commodities listed below after every four months. We have listed over forty food items that almost all Cameroonian households buy and their prices, obtained at Muea market on Sunday 5th October 2008. After every four months, a Bakweri woman will go to Muea market and get the prices of all the items on our list. The names of the commodities we have listed are the names used in Cameroon, e.g cow meat, strong-kanda, water-fufu,, mololo etc. We believe that the price list would help people budget better for different things e.g education for their children, feeding their families, clothing their families, buying medicines for their families etc, and try as much as they can to live within their means. The table can also be used to measure the level of hardship faced by families in Cameroon. For example, can a family of five(husband, wife and three children) on a total monthly income of 80,000 frs survive if they want to eat healthily(a balanced diet including fruits and vegetables), pay for their children’s education, pay transport, pay medical bills, clothe themselves and save for unforeseen circumstances? What about those who do not have jobs---what sort of things can they live on in order to survive?

Below is a table showing the prices of some common food items that you will always find in a Cameroonian shopping basket.

MUEA MARKET AND THE PRICES OF BASIC COMMODITIES

Muea is an area in the centre of the Bakweri town of Buea in Fako division, Cameroon. Muea market is one of the most important food markets in Cameroon. Every type of fresh food commodity is sold there. Infact, there is a saying that if you cannot get a fresh food item in Muea market, you wouldn’t get it anywhere in Cameroon. People from all over Cameroon and neighbouring countries like Gabon, Central African Republic and Equitorial Guinea(formally known as Fernando Po) go to Muea market to buy food for personal consumption and/or business. Thursdays and Sundays are the main market days, hence the busiest and most lucrative days for taxi drivers in Buea and the surrounding towns.

MOUNT FAKO NEWS CENTRE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX. PRICES OF BASIC COMMODITIES AT MUEA MARKET, BUEA, CAMEROON.

INFLATION TRACKING. www.mountfakonewscentre.com

ITEM

QUANTITY

PRICE

FCFA

Oct. 2008

Rice(high quality)

1 glass

100

Rice(low quality)

1 glass