Harare (New Ziana) – Small to medium sized grain millers have said their operations are teetering on the brink of collapse, blaming the situation on provisions of Statutory Instrument 145 of 2019 which mandates the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) as the sole buyer and seller of grain in the country.
In a letter to Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, the small millers, trading under the banner Small and Medium Millers Association of Zimbabwe (SMMZ), said the continued use of the SI had put them in a precarious position.
SMMAZ chairman, Davis Muhambi proposed that government repeals the SI to allow private players to buy maize directly from farmers or; “(to) subsidise the price of maize to allow the miller to be in a position to purchase at a reasonable price if government still wants to continue with S.I 145.”
“Fair pricing will be achieved, transferring burden of purchasing maize from government to the private sector and reducing pressure on the fiscus. This will certainly reduce the ZWL money supply which is fueling the parallel market rate and triggering inflation,” he said.
Muhambi added; “Repealing of S.I.145 is our preferred option because food security is not compromised by its removal and requires minimal monitoring as market forces come into play. As long as our borders remain shut to the export of maize, the harvested grain will ultimately be consumed by the Zimbabwean populace thereby sustaining the objective of food security.”
He said doing this would help push up capacity utilisation in the milling sector, while downstream industries such as stock feed manufacturers would benefit from cheaper milling by products.
“If this position of SI145 in left unattended to, and considering the coming of an expected good harvest for the 2021/22 season, the troubles for the millers are far from over. As millers, we stand absolutely no chance of survival,” he said.
The GMB, which is paying $32 000 per tonne for maize and $38 000 per tonne of traditional grains, is expecting up to 1.8 million tonnes of grain from farmers.
The country recorded a bumper harvest, the highest yield in 20 years as a result of the normal to above normal rainfall received during the 2020/21 farming season.
According to the final Crop and Livestock Assessment Report, cereal production is estimated at 3 075 538 tonnes against a national cereal requirement of 1 797 435 tonnes for human consumption and 450 000 tonnes for livestock.
New Ziana
