Zimbabwe Is Maize Secure, Claims By GMB "Incorrect" and "Regrettable" - Grain Millers
The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has said the country has enough maize supply to last it through an expected drought.
This comes after GMB acting operations director, Clemence Guta, told parliamentarians last week that the country has only four months’ supply of grain left in reserve.
However, this Wednesday, NewZimbabwe.com reported GMAZ chairman Tafadzwa Musarara as saying the claim by GMB ” is incorrect, unfortunate, misleading, and regrettable”.
Musarara said millers, with government approval, imported over 200,000 tonnes of maize to add to local deliveries. He added:
GMB appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture last week and claimed that the country is left with only four months’ cover of maize stocks.
This claim is incorrect, unfortunate, misleading, and regrettable. We wish to categorically re-state that the maize supply situation in the country is adequate and satisfactory and the country is indeed maize secure.
The milling industry, working under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, successfully secured substantial stocks in the region to complement local stocks.
This arrangement was motivated by the need to mitigate against the subsisting drought season.
We are continuing with maize imports and anticipate bringing in 200,000 metric tonnes of maize stocks in the first quarter of 2024, against a national requirement of 150,000 metric tonnes for the same period.
We confidently assure the consuming public of the availability of their maize meal supplies in all retail outlets nationwide.
The anticipated drought, a result of the ongoing El Nino which is associated with low rainfall, has pushed up the price of mealie meal.
A 10kg packet of maize, which normally costs $5, is now being sold for US$9.
More: Pindula News
