Zimbabwe: Country Barters Sugar for Malawi Maize

AS food and foreign currency shortages intensify, government has devised a plan to barter sugar for maize with Malawi.

The strategy conceived by the Joint Operations Command (JOC) food taskforce -- which brings together the army, police, intelligence service and ministries of Agriculture and Industry -- came into force last month as government desperately tries to stave-off starvation.

The barter project has resulted in a countrywide shortage of sugar which is now only available on the informal market where it is fetching up to $20 000 a kg. The price of sugar is controlled by the state and a 2kg packet should cost $8 000. Price wars between government and producers have in the past created intermittent shortages but the latest stockouts are as a result of major exports to Malawi, industry sources said.

The Zimbabwe Independent this week heard that the sugar was being transported to Malawi in 30-tonne trucks which then came back into the country with maize.

While it is not clear how much sugar will be exported to Malawi, Zimbabwe is set to receive two tonnes of maize for every tone of sugar exported. A tonne of maize is fetching US$155 compared to US$348 for a tonne of sugar.

Sources at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) said a team made up of the taskforce and the parastatal's operations department officers has already shipped two consignments of sugar to Malawi, one in March and another two weeks ago in exchange for maize. The source said the group was in the process of putting together further sugar consignments to cover the huge grain deficit in the country.

"About 100 000 tonnes of maize have already been discussed and will be on their way to Zimbabwe once the shipment arrangements have been finalised," the source said. "However, considering that an estimated 400 000 tonnes are likely to be produced locally, that leaves a huge deficit that needs to be filled."

Zimbabwe requires 1,8 million tonnes of grain to bridge two farming seasons, excluding 500 000 tonnes for strategic reserves.Government is understood to be getting the sugar directly from the mills in Chiredzi.

Farmers in the area said it was possible for government to commandeer sugar ahead of any other customer and where they would send it is entirely up to them.

"Government often commandeers sugar which it buys at ridiculous prices," one farmer said. "Last year export consignments destined for Namibia had to be stopped to allow government to get 10 000 tonnes of sugar they required."

Malawi, swamped with surplus maize from two bumper harvests, said it was prepared to export 400 000 tonnes of the staple to cash-strapped Zimbabwe.

Nasinuku Saukila, general manager of the National Food Reserve Agency, recently said Malawi has had two years of bumper maize harvest and is in surplus of about 1,1 million tonnes. He was also quoted as saying that Zimbabwe has been shopping around for maize and they will be exporting 400 000 tonnes of maize following a demand from Zimbabwe.

Over the past six years government has resorted to barter trade in minerals, land and other natural resources with any country that has the potential to provide fuel. Recently government hatched a plan to use diamonds mined from Marange in exchange for fuel from Equatorial Guinea.

Controversy around the discovery and exploitation of diamonds in Marange where the government has kicked out the owners of the claim, a British company, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), is likely to scupper the fuel deal.

Government is said to have already received fuel worth US$24 million from Equatorial Guinea, which it is unable to pay for, and now wants to use part of the diamond loot to amortise the debt.

Similar barter trade facilities put in place by government previously collapsed as government failed to honour its promises on time.