Households’ struggles to afford food were compounded when the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe hiked prices for wheat flour and the staple maize meal by about 15% in March, citing surging global prices linked to the Ukraine war. The FAO says that Zimbabwe imports the bulk of its wheat from the Black Sea and Baltic regions, with Russia and Ukraine accounting for nearly one-fifth of imports last year.
Zimbabwean security guard Edwin Dapi was already struggling to provide for his wife and four children before a conflict 11 000 km away in Ukraine sent global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer soaring. Now his monthly pay of 18 000 Zimbabwe dollars, worth roughly $55 at the black market rate used at many informal markets, is stretched to breaking point.
HARARE Zimbabwean security guard Edwin Dapi was already struggling to provide for his wife and four children before a conflict 11,000 km (6,800 miles) away…
The consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have rippled across the world, affecting geopolitical relations, disrupting supply chains and spiking commodity prices.