Zimbabwe: Zambians Wary of Selling Maize

Zambian farmers are reportedly reluctant to export maize to Zimbabwe, citing high transport costs and the unfavourable exchange rate, as a maize-meal shortage worsens in parts of the country.

The crisis comes at a time when the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) said it was negotiating with several Southern African countries to import maize to meet a huge grain deficit.

The southern parts of the country have gone for more than a month without regular supplies of maize-meal, which the GMB has blamed on transport problems.

Although Samuel Muvuti, the acting GMB chief executive officer could not disclose the targeted countries, in the past the parastatal has confirmed plans to import maize from Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.

But last week, Millers' Association of Zambia (MAZ) president Caleb Mulenga told the African Press Agency (APA) farmers in his country were reluctant to export to countries such as Zimbabwe.

His comments coincided with reports that Zimbabwe was struggling to pay for 400 000 tonnes of maize it wants to import from Malawi because of a foreign currency crunch.

Zambia recorded a huge maize surplus last season after luring a number of Zimbabwean white commercial farmers who were displaced during the chaotic land reform programme.

"Exporting the product (maize) to countries such as Zimbabwe is not competitive," Mulenga was quoted as saying, "because of the high transport costs and the high exchange rates."

Recently, the GMB said it had secured 200 000 tonnes of maize from Zambia and a similar amount from Tanzania to cover a huge maize deficit recorded during the 2006/7 season.

On Thursday, Muvuti denied the parastatal had problems sourcing maize from Zambia because it could not offer competitive prices.

"It's not about viability but about feeding our people," Muvuti said. "They (MAZ) could be having other complaints but it's not their responsibility (exporting maize)."

He said the GMB recently reviewed upwards the transportation rates it offered private operators to transport maize.

Aid agencies say more than four million people would need food aid between June and the end of the first quarter of next year.

The country harvested about a third of the 1.8 million tonnes needed to feed the population of over 12 million people annually. GMB has also denied that the country's silos were empty, insisting the imports were designed to consolidate grain reserves.

Zimbabwe has moved from being the main grain exporter in the region to importer following a disastrous land reform programme that has destroyed agriculture.