Zimbabwe’s government is racing against time to avoid a potential bread shortage by providing much-needed foreign currency to pay for wheat imports.

Since the country started experiencing foreign currency shortages‚ the reserve bank has been hard pressed to pay for critical imports that range from drugs to fuel and electricity.

Although the latest problem may be less expensive to solve‚ a bread shortage would result in millions going without basic food that retails at US$1.

Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe spokesman Garikai Chaunza told journalists that the country had a week's supply of wheat.

"Our national wheat stocks were fast depleting and we are left with grain that would take the nation up to June 26‚” he said.

In a letter written by the association to the reserve bank a fortnight ago asking for $20-million‚ it was revealed that the supply of wheat remaining was 36‚749 tonnes.