|
Zimbabwe runs out of maize-meal
Zimbabwe is on the verge of running out of maizemeal, according to the Zimbabwe website Zim Online. "There is certainly a crisis; I can confirm that there is no mealie-meal around the country and millers are currently not getting any maize supplies," said chairman of the Zimbabwe Grain Millers' Association (ZGMA), Thembinkosi Ndlovu.
He said the state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) did not have sufficient maize in stock to supply millers. Maize-meal is the daily food of more than 90 percent of 12 million Zimbabweans. The GMB is the only body permitted by law to trade in maize which is ground into maize-meal.
|
Former army colonel Samuel Muvuti, who heads the GMB, could not be reached for comment on the maize shortage. Earlier in the year, he said the GMB would collect enough maize from farmers after what he described as a bumper harvest from the 2005/06 season. His estimate was that Zimbabwe would harvest 1.8 million tons, enough for national annual consumption.
But local farming experts and international food relief agencies have disputed the government's figures. They said Zimbabwe was likely to harvest around 800,000 tons of maize after a shortage of seed and fertilizer crippled planting operations. |
|
The maize shortfall was visible in the shops of Bulawayo and outlying areas, none of which had maize-meal in stock. Most shops in Harare and other cities in the north of the country, the main maizeproducing belt, also didn’t have maize-meal in stock and last received supplies from millers more than two some weeks ago.
|
