As the coronavirus threatens the start of sales of tobacco, Zimbabwe’s second-largest source of foreign exchange, the country’s severe shortage of US dollars is set to worsen.
According to Ben Gilpin, executive director of the Commercial Farmers Union, “It’s the cash flow that’s the biggest concern for everyone. The people that provide finance to tobacco farmers did so until the end of March, with the expectation that from April debts are being serviced, but there is no money now.”
In the International Monetary Fund’s latest Article IV report, Zimbabwe had US$109 million in foreign-exchange reserves, enough for just one week of imports.