Zimbabweans need US$34 monthly to cover basic food...

Zimbabweans need US$34 monthly to cover basic food bill

Zim Now Writer

Month on month inflation figures have climbed up 0.9 percent for the month of November the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency has said.

“The food poverty line as at November 2022 stood at $21,652.27. …. This represents an increase of 0.9 percent over the October 2022 figure of $21,454.60,” said ZimStat in a report issued today.

This means an individual’s monthly food needs amount to about US$34 at the official exchange rate or US$27 at street value.

Non-food costs have gone up at higher rate, pushing the Total Consumption Poverty Line.

“TCPL for Zimbabwe stood at $28,516.73 per person in November 2022. ….. This represents an increase of 1.3 percent when compared to the October 2022 figure of $28,144.07,” said ZimStat.

By these figures a family of six would need an income of at least $171,102 for them not to be deemed poor.

This translates to about US$265 monthly income at the official exchange rate.

ZimStat says inflation rates have shed some points in the period under review:

“The month-on-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate stood at 0.9 percent in November 2022, shedding 2.2 percentage points on the October 2022 rate of 3.1 percent. The month-on-month non-food inflation rate stood at 2.6 percent, shedding 0.6 percentage points on the October 2022 rate of 3.2 percent.”