The Sunday News
Dickson Mangena, Business Reporter
GRAIN millers are importing maize in excess to avert the artificial shortage of mealie-meal on the market.
Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairman Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said millers were importing about 80 000 tonnes of maize per month in an effort to meet market demand.
“The key factor that stabilises prices is increased supply that exceeds demand and that has been achieved. I am pleased to advise that the national maize supply situation is very stable and more than adequate. Maize importation is underway, we are obtaining maize from Ukraine, Mexico and countries around the Black Sea,” said Mr Musarara.
He said consistent maize imports would ensure constant mealie-meal prices until the first half of next year.
“We don’t expect any price surges as we expect the prevalent price stability to persist up to June 2017. For the period post June 2017, we are hopeful that we should be able to obtain sufficient supplies from the current Command Agriculture and also from the contract farming arrangements that we are currently undertaking,” said Mr Musarara.
GMAZ recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Tanzania-based grain trading company for the importation of
100 000 tonnes of non-genetically modified organism maize from that country. The MoU will be interpreted in terms of the laws of Zimbabwe. This is one of many other initiatives aimed at ensuring enough maize supplies in the country.
Productivity per unit area has gone down in Zimbabwe to 0,8 tonnes per hectare from around 2,2 tonnes per hectare during the past years as a result of the vagaries of the weather.
Grain traders and miller are expected to also mop up locally produced maize but would further increase import to 700 000 tonnes from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa. This is expected to assist the Government to alleviate food shortages due to the drought the country is going through.
The millers have gone on to negotiate for safe passage of maize imported from around the world through various ports.
GMAZ early this year entered into a structured logistics plan with Mozambique’s national rail company, Camhinhos de Ferro de Mozambique aimed at expediting movement of imported maize from the ports of Beira and Maputo via Machipinda and Chicualacua into Zimbabwe.
Tanzania is expected to export grain to 13 fellow Southern Africa Development Community and East African community member states facing grain deficits as weather patterns continue to affect agricultural production.
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