Zimbabwe's main opposition party warned yesterday that the country could run out of food - including vital food aid supplied by donors - by the end of January next year.

Food shortages that threaten around half the country's 11,6-million people will reach chronic levels because the country faces a shortfall of close to one million tonnes of maize, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) shadow agriculture minister Renson Gasela told reporters.

"We need to produce a minimum of 1.8 million metric tons of maize a year," Gasela told a press conference.

He said Agriculture Minister Joseph Made recently told parliament that only 929,619 tons of maize had been produced this year.

Zimbabwe has been suffering from critical food shortages for two years.

It is estimated that 5,5-million people will be in need of emergency food aid by early next year.

Aid agencies, including the United Nations, say the government's policy of seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to new black farmers has disrupted agricultural production and increased hunger.

But the government of President Robert Mugabe blames the food shortages entirely on drought.

Yesterday Gasela said Zimbabwe's food security situation remained grim.

"We will be short by a million metric tons," Gasela said.

He said food shortages were likely to be compounded because the government had appealed for too little from donors, who in turn had received just 346 000 t, less than half the amount appealed for.

"By the end of January there will be no maize in the country either from GMB (the state-run Grain Marketing Board) or from the donors," he said. – Sapa-AFP.