Zimbabwe food inflation bites as grain millers raise prices on Russia crisis

Zimbabwean millers on Friday raised prices for the staples maize meal and flour as the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed up global grain and fertiliser costs, raising the risk of hunger in a nation already fragile from Covid-19 and economic mismanagement. The association of private millers said Zimbabwe, which expects to import 155 000 tonnes of wheat this year through October, traditionally sources most of its wheat imports from Russia, from where supplies have been disrupted by the war. Russia is also a major supplier fertilizer to Zimbabwe, raising the prospect of further hikes in prices driven by shortages and price hikes in inputs when the planting season starts later this year. Maize meal will increase by 15 percent to 1,099 Zimbabwe dollars (R127) from 955 Zimbabwe dollars, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) said in a statement, adding that wheat flour would go up by about the same percentage, to 136 544 Zimbabwe dollars per metric tonne. The southern African ...