The World : Mozambique Hikes Prices

The Mozambique government imposed large increases in food prices, and a government newspaper said the increases were made necessary by a guerrilla war ravaging the economy. Rice went from 9 cents to 60 cents a kilogram (2.2 pounds), corn flour from 9 to 32 cents, sugar from 11 to 59 cents. To partially offset the increases, the government raised the minimum wage for industrial workers from $17 a month to $29, except in factories losing money. Guerrillas of the Mozambique National Resistance have been fighting the Marxist government since Mozambique won independence from Portugal in 1975.