HARARE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean finance minister Mthuli Ncube said Wednesday the fuel shortages in the country will end in the next few days as the government has arranged enough financing to import the commodity.
Ncube told a press briefing that the fuel shortage was due to competing demand for scarce hard currency.
He said the government's decision to increase foreign exchange retention by gold miners had squeezed the country's foreign currency reserves, leaving very little for fuel imports.
The government raised the gold sector's foreign currency retention rate from 30 percent to 55 percent in the middle of November after some major mines had closed citing viability challenges due to scarcity of the green back.
"We diverted some of the foreign currency to the gold sector but fuel supply should improve in the next few days as we have arranged enough lines of credit to bring in the commodity," Ncube said.
He said foreign currency shortages are usually critical in the country during this time of the year because of the closure of the tobacco marketing season, which usually runs from March to August.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe's largest foreign currency earner.
The ongoing foreign currency shortages have resulted in shortages of critical imports such as fuel and medical drugs and an increase in prices of basic goods and services.
Last week, Ncube raised duty on fuel in a move intended to curb illegal export of the commodity, mainly by foreign truckers who come to buy fuel at cheaper prices due to currency distortions in the economy.
Excise duty on diesel and petrol was raised by seven cents and 6.5 cents respectively effective Dec. 1, 2018.
