Charcoal traders in Chipata have increased the price of a 50 kilogram bag from 50 to 75 kwacha.
And a check by Breeze News in some selling points also found a 25 kilogram bag of charcoal, which was selling at 25 Kwacha last week now being sold at 35 Kwacha.
Some charcoal traders talked to by Breeze News attributed the price increase to the high price of the Charcoal Trading License by the Forestry Department.
They explained that the Forestry Department is charging them 270 kwacha per ten bags of charcoal per week, which they said is too high as they have to spend a lot of money on transport.
The traders added that transporters are charging them 17 Kwacha per bag of charcoal when transporting the commodity.
When contacted for a comment, Provincial Forestry Officer, Joyce Munkombwe says it is unfair for the traders to attribute the hiked trading price for charcoal to the increase in trading license.
Ms. Munkombwe says this is because the trading license fee was increased from 162 Kwacha to 270 Kwacha two years ago.