THE price of a tin of baked beans passed the $1 million mark in Zimbabwe yesterday as leaked figures showed annual inflation had surged to almost 15,000 per cent, the highest in the world.
The Central Statistical Office recorded that inflation in October had gone up to 14,840.6 per cent. President Robert Mugabe's price cutting measures of June have failed to tame the rate.
Shop shelves are empty of basic foodstuffs such as meat, margarine, sugar and cooking oil. Shoppers are forced to queue for scarce goods - including the state-controlled Herald daily newspaper. Yesterday a can of locally-produced baked beans was selling for more than Z$1,200,000 - about £19.50 on the official exchange rate, though unofficial rates will see this worth just 66p - in a small grocery store in eastern Zimbabwe. Many Zimbabweans survive on less than $10 million a month. They joke bitterly that they are "poor millionaires". |