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Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Senior Business Reporter
Maize imports into the country by millers have significantly dropped since the inception of the weekly Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) auction where buyers and sellers are meeting to trade the grain and other agricultural commodities.
Imports of maize fell by 96,7 percent in June to US$257 271 from US$9,2 million in July after the ZMX commenced its weekly maize auction in the month under review.
A total of 198 tonnes were sold at an average price of US$285 per tonne in the first two weeks of the auction.
Maize imports were mainly for stock feed, as the Grain Marketing Board had said it is reserving its grains for strategic human consumption reserves.
In February this year, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa told a post-Cabinet presentation that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) grain stocks as at January 31, 2023 stood at 392 464 tonnes, comprising 346 966 tonnes of maize and 45 498 tonnes of traditional grains.
“Using this monthly rate of 40 000 tonnes, the available grain will last for 9,8 months meaning that the country has sufficient grain to last until the next upcoming harvest,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
According to the report, millers and stockfeed manufacturers were expected to import grain to cover the gap in their own requirements. An official at Manyame Milling in Marondera, who requested anonymity, told this publication that the auction had done a lot to reduce the cost of landing maize in Zimbabwe.
“We bought our maize in South Africa and the landing cost was a little bit higher at around US$295 per tonne and now we are doing about US$270 per tonne. If you multiply the extra figure by about 30 to 40 tonnes you will see that it is a large figure that we were paying to land the maize in Marondera,” the source said.
Speaking on the issue, Dr Prosper Chitambara said, “It sounds like it is nothing but if you put it into perspective you will see how it impacts the current account. Not importing much like before will leave us at a better foreign currency position, recently the central bank said we have a surplus foreign exchange position and these are some of the reasons.”
Economist Tinevimbo Shava said, “Zimbabwe had sufficient grain reserves in the late 1980s, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forced the country to liquidate them for cash.
“This decision led to food insecurity over the last 30-plus years as we faced the challenge of feeding our people against a background of scarce access to foreign currency.
“However, it is good to note that the country now has enough grain to cover until the end of the next harvesting season. What we now need is to get ourselves in a position where we start building reserves to be able to cover both domestic and livestock consumption for about two years.”
The agricultural commodities exchange is in line with the Government’s thrust of opening up farming markets thereby facilitating price discovery, fairness and efficiency. Other features of the newly established market include convenience as buyers and sellers access the auction from their offices, farms and homes as well as competitive rates as buyers and sellers get the best deal.
Having commenced with the weekly maize auction, the market is now also trading other grains including soyabeans, wheat and barley. The auction is also expected to include over 10 commodities within its trading platforms with long-term plans of including horticulture and livestock.
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