The average annual inflation rate in Zimbabwe continued its dizzying upward trend, hitting 228% in March, the government’s statistics office said on Tuesday.
The March figure marked a 7,1% point gain from February, which was attributed to hikes in the prices of fruits, vegetables, meat, clothing and public transport, according the Central Statistical Office (CSO).
”This means that prices as measured by all the items (in the) consumer price index increased by an average 228 percent between March 2002 and March 2003,” the CSO said in its latest prices bulletin.
It said food inflation was highest, at 247,9%. Famine, price controls and a chaotic government land reform scheme have been blamed for critical food shortages which have led to skyrocketting prices in the southern African country, once a regional breadbasket. Economists say the official inflation figure is an understatement because it is measured according to state-controlled prices while food is sold on the parallel market at several times the official price.
”I think the real inflation figure should be about 260%,” said economist Eric Bloch, who forecast that it will probably reach the 300% mark by year end. Zimbabwe’s average annual inflation was 22,6 percent in 1995. – Sapa-AFP