Ordering a Coke in Harare is a challenge because fast-food outlets, restaurants and eateries have run out of stock. It is even harder to find one in a supermarket, and the same goes for Fanta and Sprite. Zimbabwe's foreign currency shortages have not spared the country's largest beverages maker, Delta Beverages, which is a unit of global giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. Like many other companies reliant on imports, Delta Beverages has been struggling to pay for the key ingredients in its soft-drinks range because of delays at the central bank in meeting requests for US dollars. This has caused a Coca-Cola drought that is unlikely to end soon. Sifelani Jabangwe, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the largest industry association, estimates that the manufacturing industry as a whole is waiting for at least $800m (about R11.3bn) in backlogged payments from the central bank. Given the tough trading environment, Jabangwe says few companies and businesses will experience a ...
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