Zimbabwe’s government cut the prices of basic goods, including bread and sugar, back to the levels they were prior to entering a coronavirus lockdown in late March.
In announcing the move, Vice President Kembo Mohadi said the imposing of the 21-day lockdown led to a spike in prices of basic goods.
“The Ministry of Industry and Commerce in partnership with the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has been continuously monitoring the food basket cost. When His Excellency, President E.D Mnangagwa announced the lockdown, prices skyrocketed generating increasing difficulties for the general public to access food items such as bread, sugar, cooking oil, mealie meal and flour,” said Mohadi.
Mohadi says the price rollback will apply to all players in the supply chain.
The country first announced a 21-day lockdown on March 30 and extended it by another two weeks to May 3.
In a country where more than 80% of the working population work in the informal sector, the lockdown has left many families caught between staying at home and risking hunger or venturing out on the streets to try to earn a living and risk contracting the coronavirus.
Market watchers said price increases were driven by uncertainty around the falling exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar and food shortages.
Between 30 March and 22 April, the Zimbabwe dollar lost half its value, falling from a pegged official exchange rate of 25 to the US dollar, to 50 to the US dollar.
