The month-on-month cost of living for an urban family of six in Zimbabwe has surged by 43.1 percent, while basic commodities, such as cooking oil, maizemeal and flour have been “consistently unavailable” on the formal market since the onset of the festive season, said the latest report by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ).
Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, which saw levels persist above 1,000 percent in 2006, has resulted in a family of six now having to spend US$1,406 (ca. 8000 d. kr.) to subsist in January, as opposed to the US$982 (knap 5700 d. kr.) monthly income required in December 2006.
The CCZ noted that the steepest increases were recorded in education (261.9 percent), bread (179.7 percent), white sugar (166.7 percent) and cooking oil (78.3 percent).
The latest figures released by Zimbabwe’s central statistics office showed that year-on-year inflation had risen by 182 percentage points in December from 1,098 percent in November, hitting a new record high of 1,280 percent.
Kilde: www.irinnews.org
