Retailers argue that they still have old stocks while customers appear unaware of the suspension.

The decision by Guinness Cameroon S.A to suspend increases in the prices of its products for 15 days so as to better negotiate with government on the way forward is yet to be fully respected by retailers. Bars in Yaounde continue to charge the additional FCFA 50 per bottle and about FCFA 1,000 per crate as was the case since April 1, 2012 when the company decided to increase the prices.

At the time, the company claimed it wanted to remain competitive following “the increase in the prices of brewery ingredients in the international market.” Some retailers even added FCFA 100 or more to the cost of a bottle of drink, depending on the logistics in their drinking spots. Some drinking spots Cameroon Tribune visited in Yaounde on Wednesday night continued charging the increased prices to customers. They said the decision could not be fully respected because they still had old stocks that were bought at the increased prices and selling them at the new prices will entail great losses on their part.

Some of the retailers, who prayed for anonymity for fear of being victimised, said they can only revert to the old prices when they must have emptied their current stocks and bought new ones at a price they can make returns. Meanwhile, customers continued out of ignorance to pay the high prices. “I am learning from you that Guinness Cameroon S.A. has suspended the price increases,” Sergius Mboloum told Cameroon Tribune on Wednesday night at the Chapel Obili neighbourhood in Yaounde where he and his friends gathered to drink and watch the European Champions League return leg semi finals between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

However, both retailers and consumers expressed the hope that stakeholders would come up with a binding decision that protects the interests of consumers and boosts the activities of Guinness and the country’s economy. The price increases caused a stir as Guinness Cameroon S.A. complained of increases in prices of by-products that are entirely imported as well as the need to make returns and stay competitive with other countries. But the Ministry of Trade in a letter addressed to the General Manager of the company, found fault in the reasons, stating that “From every indication, the price readjustment is motivated solely by the company’s desire to make returns which, for the moment, doesn’t take into consideration the interests of consumers.”