Food prices continue to rise

The price of a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe is expected to rise to Zim $3,500 (US $1)- the latest hike in the cost of basic food commodities - after an increase in the price of flour.

The cost of flour increased last week because low levels of domestic wheat production have forced millers to turn to more expensive imports.

Zimbabwe is expected to produce only 38 percent of its food requirements in the current growing season, according to the latest monthly report of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET). It estimated that just over five million people in a rural population of 7.8 million would require food assistance until March 2004, before the next harvest in April.

The situation in urban areas has worsened as well. The cost of the December 2003 low-income urban household monthly basket, monitored by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, rose five percentage points from the November total to about Zim $678,000 (US $193.71).

The council noted that much of the increase was attributable to the non-food component of the basket, which grew by about 23 percent between November and December. The food component of the basket only increased by about four percentage points to Zim $441,000 (US $126).

During the nine months up to 31 December 2003, FEWSNET recorded a cereal deficit of approximately 174,000 metric tonnes, including maize, sorghum, rapoko, and millet. "Because of this deficit, both rural and urban households were likely to be forced to skip meals, eat smaller portions at every meal, and substitute cereals with vegetables or other foods. Some [people] even had to migrate out of formal urban settlements to squatter camps and rural areas where the cost of living is lower."

"A lukewarm response to the appeal for food assistance is limiting the ability of the WFP [World Food Programme] and its partners to meet the needs of all food insecure households," said the report. By the end of December 2003, only 54 percent of the estimated 610,000 metric tonnes of emergency food aid required had been secured.

The official Herald newspaper said on Friday the government had bought 70,000 tonnes of maize from South Africa to be distributed as relief.

The Zimbabwe Standard reported on Sunday that those millers and bakers issued with import licences for wheat and flour were sourcing supplies from neighbouring countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique, while small bakers were paying US $48 for a 50 kg bag of flour this week, up from $37.5 last week.