ZIMBABWE* (6 June)
As a result of the widespread drought, combined with late availability of seeds, shortages of fuel, fertilizer, credit, spare parts and draught power, high cost of spare parts and inadequate credit, the 2004/05 agricultural season is expected to yield one of the lowest harvests in recent years. USDA estimates production of maize, the main staple food crop, at 550 000 tonnes, compared to over 2 million tonnes in 2000. Meanwhile, other estimates from national and regional sources, range from 300 000 to 600 000 tonnes. With a national consumption requirement of about 1.45 million tonnes, the import requirement is substantial. The Government of Zimbabwe has recently announced its plans to import 1.2 million tonnes of maize, but commercial import capacity of the country is severely constrained by falling foreign exchange reserves. According to official sources, about 150 000 tonnes of grain were imported from South Africa in April.
According to FEWSNET, the parallel market prices of maize in March throughout the country were rising instead of declining as per the normal seasonal pattern. At mid-March 2005 maize prices varied from Z$ 1 170/kg in surplus areas mostly in the north-central part of the country to Z$ 2 945/kg in the south and peripheral deficit areas. These prices have risen from the respective average of Z$ 280 to Z$ 560 per kg during post-harvest period in April 2004. The continuing hyper inflation1 combined with extremely high levels of unemployment, greatly limit access to food for the most vulnerable population groups.
1. Annual rate of inflation in March 2005 was about 130 percent; this has steadily declined from about 600 percent at the beginning of 2004.