Food prices in the Democratic Republic of Congo have spiked, eight weeks after the the country recorded its first case of the new coronavirus despite an availability of food products in markets.

The situation points to what the United Nations and government officials have condemned as unscrupulous profiteering at a time of crisis.

“Almost overnight, a bowl of tomatoes doubled in price to 500 Congolese francs, around $0.30,” said one shopper, Mireille.

Price-gouging by some traders forced the government to abandon a lockdown policy and implement a more limited confinement in downtown Kinshasa at the epicentre of the outbreak.

So far, Congo has recorded more than 600 COVID-19 cases, including over 30 deaths.

“Today I am buying more tomatoes and I will keep them in the freezer because tomorrow everything can go up,” Mireille said.

The more recent increases in food prices have been driven by trader speculation, combined with panic-buying and increased transport costs, an FAO spokesman told Reuters.

“A few bad faith Congolese, mostly resellers, used this to play around with prices in markets,” said Tripo Losel, an advisor at the ministry of finance.

Authorities have raided warehouses and will try to regulate food stocks and prices, he said.

The central bank said on Thursday the country will slip into recession this year for the first time in almost two decades, and forecast inflation more than doubling to 9.9% compared to 2019.