Zimbabwe runs out of bread

There was no bread in most shops around Zimbabwe today Monday evening and millers have reported that there is no wheat in the country.

Scores of people scoured supermarkets in  Bulawayo and other cities in search of the commodity that has run out.
The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) Public Relations manager Mr Garikai Chaunza painted a dire picture saying there was no wheat in the country for millers to make bread.

He said his association was urgently engaging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to avail US $12,5 million to import wheat, failure to which bread could not be produced.

 "There is no wheat stocks and we are in communication with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to unlock wheat consignments which are in Beira and Harare," said Mr Chaunza.

He said 30 000 tonnes ofwheat had been obtained in Mozambique and could only be delivered to the country after payments of US$12.5 million.

By around 7pm today citizens had come alive to the fact that there was no bread and the situation is likely to continue indefinitely.

"Bread actually started becoming scarce on Saturday and now it has finally run out. It's either the government has not bought wheat or bakeries want to create an artifical shortage and hike prices," said Mmeli Ncube.

He said bread was out of the the reach of many after moving from RTGS$1 per loaf to RTGS$3,35, without a corresponding increase in salaries.

"However, for those of us with school children it's a relatively cheaper alternative to other confectionery like buns which are selling up to RTGS$1 each. Government must sort this out urgently," he said.