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THE Food Poverty Line (FPL) for one person in April stood at $25 170, an 11,6 percent increase over the March 2023 figure of $22 560,30 per individual, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has said.

The Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) was $33 044,46 per person, meaning an individual required that much to purchase both non-food and food items in order not to be deemed poor.

ZimStat said the April figures represent an increase of 11 percent when compared to March’s $29 778,08 per person, with the PDL differing by province as prices vary from place to place.

The food poverty line (FPL) represents the amount of money that an individual requires to afford the minimum required daily energy intake of 2 100 calories.

Meanwhile, the month-on-month rate of change in March was 5,3 percent, gaining 2,6 percentage points on the February rate of 2,7 percent.

According to Zimstat, the manufacture of food products, mining and quarrying, chemicals and chemical products and other non-metallic mineral products were the major contributors to the rise in the March index.

The Building Materials Price Index (BMPI) quarterly rate of change in March was -2.2 percent, meaning prices as measured by the all-items BMPI increased at an average rate of -2,2 percent from December 2022 to March

this year.

Bricks were the major contributors to the rise in March while other materials and flooring had an insignificant impact, which meant the prices of the products almost remained constant.

Cement, aggregates and allied materials, roofing, metal windows, and door frames, paint and glass, sanitary ware and plumbing, electrical goods and materials and timber and wood products contributed to the decrease

of the index with the BMPI at the end of March being 97,85 percent.

Zimstat said month-on-month inflation rate in April was 2,4 percent, gaining 2,3 percentage points on the March rate of 0,1 percent, resulting in prices measured by the all items CPI increasing by an average of 2,4 percent from March 2023 to April 2023.

“The month-on-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate was at -1,2 percent in April 2023, shedding 1,5 percentage points on the March 2023 rate of 0,3 percent.

“The month-on-month non-food inflation rate was 5.1 percent, gaining 5,1 percentage points on the March 2023 rate of 0,0 percent,” said ZimStat in a statement.

-New Ziana