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THE confectionary industry has established a Zimbabwe Wheat Board as part of efforts to facilitate improved local production and processing of the crop. Wheat production has dwindled over the years forcing millers to bridge the gap through imports as the main input in the baking sector. Givemore Mesoemvura, president of the National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe, told Business Chronicle that the board was created as a response to increased dependence on imports.
“We’ve come up with the Zimbabwe Wheat Board so we can stimulate growth of both winter wheat and the summer crop to try and alleviate the reliance on imports,” he said.
“Zimbabwe has suitable climatic conditions and we want to start growing our own wheat so we stop complaining about the shortage of foreign currency (to import) when we can do the production ourselves.
“The board will be announced in the last week of June so that it starts working on the summer crop as soon as possible.” Zimbabwe’s competitive advantage from an agriculture perspective lies in the country’s large tracts of arable land and its excellent weather that allows farming activities to be carried out throughout the year.
Mesoemvura said the sector needed 480,000 metric tonnes of wheat per season compared to the current yield of about 60,000 metric tonnes. The bakery industry is importing over 85 percent of wheat requirements annually, contributing to an expanding trade deficit that has drained the country of much-needed liquidity.
The bill for wheat imports has been running into $100 million every year. Buy Zimbabwe chairperson Oswald Binha last year said the import costs were too high and should be brought down by increasing wheat farming and co-ordinating its marketing.
The country’s peak wheat production was in the 90s when yields as high as 325,000 metric tonnes were attained.
derick.khumalo