12 November 2008
THE Government has warned that it will sanction the importation of maize and allow the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to offload maize on the market if millers do not stop hoarding maize and lower prices of mealie meal.
Government says a 25 kg bag of roller meal should cost between K40,000 and K43, 000 while the same quantity of breakfast should be pegged at about K50,000 as agreed with the millers.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, Ben Kapita and Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said in Lusaka yesterday if that was not done, the Government would introduce several measures to ensure the prices of the staple food were restored to pre-election levels.
The duo said in a joint statement that it had been discovered that millers were hoarding maize stocks.
Following a meeting held in Lusaka on Monday with the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ), the FRA and the two ministries, the ministers directed milling companies to ensure traders reduced the mealie meal prices as agreed on.
"We, therefore, urge milling companies not to hoard the maize but release it for the purpose of making mealie meal.
"We also direct the milling companies to ensure that traders dealing in their products sell their products at between K40,000 and K43,000 for roller meal and about K50,000 for breakfast meal as has been agreed by the millers themselves."
They said through the meeting, it was established that the country had enough maize stocks to last up to March 2009, but some millers were hoarding it for profit and political reasons.
"The Government is also concerned that some of the milling companies hoarding the maize are doing it for profiteering and speculative motives and their basic motive seems to be to embarrass the Government in the eyes of the public.
"The traders and all those involved are not putting the interests and well-being of the Zambian consumers first," they said.
If the millers did not heed the advice, the two ministers said, the Government would allow FRA to release its maize stock based on the shortfall to be determined by millers and maize grain traders.
The Government, through the ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, would further issue permits for the importation of non-genetically modified organism (GMO) white maize to offset the purported deficit for the essential commodity.
"Importers should take note that maize imports from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) do not attract any import duty.
"In the event that the mealie meal price situation does not improve, the Government will allow importation of the mealie meal and flood the market to make the prices affordable to the Zambian consumers," they said.
They said the Government would continue monitoring the situation with a view to taking necessary corrective measures at all times.
Meanwhile, President Rupiah Banda has expressed serious concern over the rising prices of mealie meal and met millers to explore ways of reducing the price of the commodity.
MMD spokesperson, Benny Tetamashimba, said Mr Banda met the millers on Monday and they discussed the possibility of reducing the price of the staple food by Friday this week.
Mr Tetamashimba was responding to questions on the Muvi Television programme Matter at Hand on Monday evening.
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