Basic foodstuff prices shoot up in rural areas

Peter Moyo

The month of October saw the cost of  basic foodstuffs go up by 26% in Zimbabwe’s rural areas, a World Food Program (WFP) update has revealed.

The basic food basket in ZWL terms in rural markets increased by more than a quarter in comparison with  July which was the previous reporting period for the WFP. 

On year-on- year basis, the cost  shot up to 526%.

Meanwhile, the basic food basket in urban area markets in ZWL increased by 3% when compared to September 2022 and 475% year-on-year.

 In USD terms, the average cost of the basic food basket for rural markets decreased by 16% compared to the month of July, and rose by 11% compared to the same time in 2021. 

The WFP partially attributes the price decreases in USD terms to  the monetary control measures being implemented by the Government. 

“Maize grain availability, though still low at 13% , was higher than the July availability and could be explained by farmers disposing reserved stocks  on the market to get cash to purchase inputs,” says the latest WFP’s rural market perfomance update.

The average selling price was ZWL264.42/ kg which was 20% higher than the July price of ZWL219.46/kg and 489% higher than a year ago.

In USD terms the price remained stable at 0.31/Kg but compared to the same time the previous year it has increased by 9% whilst over six months it has increased by 15%.

Unrefined maize meal availability increased by about 5  percentage points to 70% compared to the month of July with an average of 65%.

“The average price for the commodity was ZWL454.28/kg which is 33% higher than July price of ZWL342.56/kg and 544% higher than a year ago.

In USD terms the price at US$0.53/kg is 15% lower than the July price of US$0.46/kg and 17% higher than the previous year,” says WFP.

Sugar beans availability remained steady at 59% similar to July 2022.

The average price for sugar beans was ZWL2,002.60/kg which is 36% higher compared to the July price of ZWL1477.21/kg and 493% higher than a year ago.

In USD terms, the price decreased by 13% from an average of US$2.37/kg in July to US$2.07/kg currently.

According to WFP, the decrease in the price  of  the commodity in USD terms could be partially explained by issues to do with demand and supply as well as the monetary control measures.

Vegetable oil was reportedly available in 93% of the markets which is stable in comparison to the 96% reported in July.

The commodity was selling at an average price of ZWL2172.98/L  which is 15% higher compared to ZWL1886.41/L reported in July and 578% compared to same time the previous year.

The USD price of US$2.49/L represents 18% decrease compared to US$2.11/L in July and increased by 25% on a year- on-year basis.

In a World Bank update dated August  11, 2022, Zimbabwe was recorded as having the second highest annual food inflation rate after Lebanon.