Zimbabwe imports maize from neighbours

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Thursday the government had ordered 500,000 tonnes of food, mainly maize, from Malawi, South Africa and Zambia to avert starvation.

The southern African country, once a big grain exporter to the region, is facing food shortages due to drought and poor agricultural policies.

Government's critics blame Mugabe's controversial seizure of farms from whites, to resettle landless peasants, for recurrent food shortages in Zimbabwe.

The country has been importing grain, mainly the staple maize food, from its neighbours for almost five years now.

Estimates put total food import requirements this year at half Zimbabwe's annual maize consumption of two million tonnes.