According to calculations by Expansão – based on data from the National Statistics Institute, which result from a survey of around 15,000 prices applied during the last five years -, the value of soap has increased by more than 250 percent, translating up by about three and a half times more than five years ago.
In annual terms, soap was being sold at 403 kwanzas in January 2017, but at the end of that year the bar was already being sold at 537.9 kwanzas.
At the beginning of the following year, the value of this product was fixed at 555 kwanzas, however, three months later the soap was already being marketed at 600 kwanzas. However, the growth in the price of soap continued to rise, ending 2018 at 708.4 kwanzas, writes Expansão.
In 2019, the year before the emergence of covid-19, soap began to be sold at 722 kwanzas, having closed 2019 at 859 kwanzas.
In 2020, as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, the value of soap increased significantly: at the beginning of the year it started to be sold at 879.5 kwanzas, but by the end of 2020 it already cost 1,201 kwanzas.
According to Expansão, last year the value continued to skyrocket, with soap rising from 1101 kwanzas in January to 1422.3 kwanzas at the end of 2021.
It should be noted that with the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, this product became essential to combat the disease, causing prices to skyrocket. According to the same newspaper, that year, in the capital, the bar of soap was worth 2,500 kwanzas in some neighborhoods, due to high demand and speculation from sellers.
With regard to basic basket goods, their prices have increased significantly in recent years due to exchange rate devaluation, inflation and fragile national production. Although soap does not belong to the list of products in the basic basket, it is considered a crucial good for hygiene, writes Expansão.
