The value of beanz
I have never been a proponent of blaming the business community for what appears to be a determined attempt to force the people of Zimbabwe into starvation, either by price or availability, but I have been deeply moved when considering events observed over the last maybe 10 days.
A 410 gm tin of beans at a local trading market has been pretty steady in the price of the local produce at around $12,500. To beat this price a certain sharp wholesalers was visited and the price of the same product was $22,000. Whilst looking for bread at a place where disputes are likely to break out, the price was pushing $40,000.00. This has got to be a rip off! I will not shop there for anything and such boycotts should be encouraged.
Considerata - The official exchange rate is $250 to the US$. This makes a tin of beans in the extreme equal to US$160. On a recent Chronicle bill board, the headlines stated “Gono speaks on devaluation”. Unfortunately the Chronicle was as usual somewhat partisan and misleading. Basically the good Dr. appeared to say that the parallel market was overstated and a realistic figure was $2,500 to the US.
Wow, the price of a tin of beans has just dropped to US$16.
The British pound is currently and correctly traded as being equal to US$2, so our tin of beans in the first instant is equal to £80. People in the Diaspora will be knowledgeable in the fact that a fair - if not a slightly high price of a tin of beans in the UK, is 25P. Our one tin of beans in Zimbabwe now equates to 320 tins of beans in the UK. But don’t worry, we can reduce that to 32 tins by applying the good Dr’s principle of $2,500 /US$. It still doesn’t seem to equate.
So lets make ourselves feel a little better and have a conservative stab at the parallel market rate for the £. Shall we say $30,000/£1. 40,000 (price of beans) divided by 30,000 (assumed rate) equals £1.33 divided by 0.25 (UK price of beans) equals in round figures 5 tins of beans. Our beans are still five times more expensive. Who’s kidding who?
I am advised that a tin of beans in Botswana costs 2 Pula (not confirmed). There are twelve Pula to the £1. A tin of beans in Botswana costs 0.17p.
The problem is we don’t earn US$s or £s. How many tins of beans do you pay your domestic or workers? How many tins of beans do you earn to pay your domestic or workers? How many beans, not tins, can many Zimbabweans afford?
So what did I do today? I went back to the trading market and bought imported tins of beans from Zambia. It cannot be confirmed but it is believed that the produce is grown by ex-Zimbabweans and the packing is managed by ex-Zimbabweans at the processing plant.
How much? $10,800. Still expensive but almost four times cheaper than our most expensive tin of beans, equal to .36p (30,000/1)
Amounts have been rounded for ease of comparison not exaggeration, and certainly not by way of explaining the bizarreness of the situation.
PS - The shop in dispute today was charging $43,000 plus.
