Zimbabwe Seeks $331.5 Million to Deal With Drought, Cyclone

(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe is seeking $331.5 million in humanitarian aid as the southern African nation battles the “twin shocks” of a sustained drought and a cyclone earlier this year, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.

“We have to protect the vulnerable from everyday shocks,” Ncube told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Harare.

U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols said his country would provide an additional $45 million in food and cash transfers for those affected by hunger.

Local Government Minister July Moyo earlier said the country needs 1 million metric tons of corn after adverse weather slashed its harvest.

The corn crop is expected to plummet 54% this year amid the drought and after Cyclone Idai damaged crops in some provinces in March, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

--With assistance from Brian Latham.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ray Ndlovu in Johannesburg at rndlovu1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone

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