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Zimbabwe Monthly Market Monitoring Report, Issue No: 70 | Reporting period: 1st – 31st March 2021

Countries
Zimbabwe
Sources
WFP
Publication date
Origin
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Highlights

The month of March saw easing of lockdown restrictions which resulted in opening of businesses and resumption of intercity and interprovincial travel. This is expected to increase livelihood activities and households’ income, which coupled with the incoming harvest is likely to lead to an improvement in household food security. The harvest is expected to increase availability of staple commodities, mainly cereals and pulses, resulting in price stabilisation.

Markets Profile

This report is based on markets from 43 districts/domains (19 rural and 24 urban); the previous reporting period covered 39 districts (16 rural and 23 urban). 76% of the interviews were conducted remotely whilst 24% through face to face.

Major food commodity Prices

The price of the major food commodities increased marginally in March by an average of 4% (stable range); specifically, maize grain increased by 4%, maize meal by 4%, sugar beans by 2% and cooking oil by 5%.

Supply of maize grain remained critically low, reported to be available in only 5% of monitored markets across 17 out of the 43 monitored districts; while supply of maize meal increased from 71% in February to 77% in March.
Availability of sugar beans remained stable, marginally decreasing by 2%. Availability of vegetable oil remained stable during the month, slightly higher in the urban markets than the rural. The price of diesel increased by 4% whilst that of blend increased by 6%.