GMB refurbishes silos

management of Strategic Grain Reserves.
GMB general manager Mr Albert Mandizha recently said the first phase of the refurbishment exercise had already been completed, adding that the process had now entered the second phase.
“There will be three phases, which we hope to complete within the next 12 months,” he said.
“The tender is already out for the project.”

Mr Mandizha said the country had failed to achieve the national maize requirement of 1,8 tonnes in the 2010/11 farming season, realising a total of 338 371 tonnes.
Imports would bridge the gap, according to Mr Mandizha.
Mr Mandizha said GMB was expected to have 500 000 tonnes of grain in its Strategic Grain Reserve at any given time and was targeting to achieve the tonnage by mid-November this year.

The Government, he said, had since banned the export of maize and wheat while it imported maize and wheat flour totalling 140 000 tonnes since April 1, this year.
Mr Mandizha indicated that all the 84 depots countrywide were well stocked with grain and only liquidity challenges could affect the people’s access to the grain.
“It is not a question of availability, but affordability. Many people are finding the price of US$16 per bag rather unaffordable, but we have moved grain to all areas that had deficits.”

Mr Mandizha further revealed that GMB had paid US$84 million for all the grain delivered in the 2010/11 farming season and the only challenges that remained were in the cost of looking after the grain reserves at a cost of US$10 per tonne per month.
The parastatal’s capacity utilisation is at 36 percent. Mr Mandizha said GMB was in the process of restructuring so efforts to revamp both the SGR and the commercial side of its operations would continue.

“We hope to do larger volumes of processed products,” he said.
“There are about nine products on the market at the moment.

“I am also happy to say that GMB has managed to switch from the use of methyl bromide to aluminium phosphide in line with the Montreal Protocol that seeks to see the use of ozone-depleting substances phased out by 2015.”