World Bank Ranks Zimbabwe as a Country With the Most Expensive Food

T he World Bank said that Zimbabwe is among the 10 countries in the world where food is most expensive at a time when the war between Russia...

The World Bank said that Zimbabwe is among the 10 countries in the world where food is most expensive at a time when the war between Russia and Ukraine is worsening the situation. 

Zimbabwe is following Lebanon which is leading the 10 countries. Countries named by the World Bank as having the most expensive food are Venezuela, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Iran, Argentina, Suriname, Ethiopia and Moldova.

The World Bank has said that the rise in food prices in these countries, including Zimbabwe, has caused many people to face hunger and poor health. 

Word Bank also said that the increase in prices is also being worsened by the war in Ukraine between Russia and Ukraine, the delay in the movement of cargo ships and the economic instability in developing countries caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Miss Florence Taruvinga, told the media that what the World Bank has said also reveals the difficulties being faced by workers in the country as they are being given less money. 

An economist who used to work as a consultant in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Masimba Manyanya, said that the instability of the country's currency compared to the US dollar is one of the causes of the economic crisis.

The spokesman for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Mr Obert Masaraure, said that political and economic issues must be resolved quickly. 

A political expert, Mr Rashweat Mukundu, said that the lands that were taken from the white farmers are lying idle, which is causing food to become scarce, which will also cause food prices to rise.

Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa says his government is taking strong measures to improve the country's economy by growing enough food for the country. In the Sunday Mail newspaper a few weeks ago, Mr Mnangagwa said that the government will work hard to grow more wheat to reduce the amount of wheat Zimbabwe has been importing from Russia and Ukraine is currently unstable.

The World Bank also said it is setting aside $30 billion to fight the problem of hunger and strengthen the issues of agriculture, nutrition, access to water and irrigation in countries facing food shortages.