As the coronavirus threatens to delay the start of tobacco sales, Zimbabwe’s shortage of US dollars is set to get even worse, according to Bloomberg.

Zimbabwe has imposed a 21-day lockdown in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus and tobacco sales which were planned to start on 22 April have been postponed. The severe shortage of US dollars now looks likely to cause big problems, reports Bloomberg.
“It’s the cash flow that’s the biggest concern for everyone,” says Ben Gilpin, executive director of the Commercial Farmers Union. “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.”
According to Bloomberg, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest report that the country had US 109 million in foreign-exchange reserves, enough for just one week of imports. Zimbabwe has a limit on cash withdrawals and requires foreign currency to pay for different goods from food to fuel.
“Health comes first before wealth and as an industry we need to decide on plan B,” said Rodney Ambrose, chief executive officer at the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association. “For the farmers, tobacco is their livelihood and foreign currency is generated from these sales.”