The bread shortage has reached critical proportions. In Bulawayo today there are reports that the queues for bread were as long as those for fuel. The long snaking queues in the city centre areas, highlighted just how serious the problem has become.

The two Meikles shops in Jason Moyo avenue and Grey Street and the little Downings shop in 9th avenue had to close temporarily in an effort to contain the overwhelming crowds. In other situations some shops with flour made the bread while impatient customers milled outside in chaotic queues. In several townships bread deliveries have ceased as the commodity disappears into the black market.

Several months ago experts warned of a looming wheat shortage caused by under-cultivation as not enough hectares were devoted to growing the crop. The theft and vandalism of irrigation equipment under the chaotic land reform exercise added to the problem. Others who grabbed farms simply stopped growing wheat or did not have the inputs to grow any crop on a commercial scale.

Government on the other hand blames the situation on perceived economic sabotage from those it says are not happy with the land reform exercise. Several food agencies predicted the wheat shortage but their warnings fell on deaf ears, creating more problems for long suffering Zimbabweans.