FRA TO SUPPLY BALANCE OF MAIZE TO MILLERS MONTHLY, says Luhila

By Chansa Kabwela

THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will over the next nine months supply the balance of the required 69,000 metric tonnes of maize to millers monthly, FRA executive director Fridah Luhila has said.

And Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) representative Peter Cottan said wholesale prices of mealie meal would hold firm at K33,000 and K25,000 for 25 kg bags of breakfast and roller meal respectively.

Briefing the press yesterday, Luhila said FRA would supply maize to millers as of July 1 at US$170 (about K780,000) per tonne.

Luhila pointed out that FRA was not going to replace farmers or traders, but that the organisation would only fill in the gap for the next nine months.

"In light of the slight maize deficit on the maize balance sheet, FRA will supply the balance of maize to millers at a steady price of US$170. Most maize would be purchased from traders, commercial and small-scale farmers. FRA will mobilise maize from the surplus rural areas to the main provincial centres for ease of supply to the millers. When we saw that prices of mealie meal were increasing, we called for a meeting with the Millers Association of Zambia where the decision was made and it will be reviewed every three months. We are also planning to meet with the farmers and discuss with them," she said.

Luhila said FRA would purchase maize from areas where there was a surplus and redistribute to areas of deficit.

She said FRA had sufficient stocks and would manage to supply the millers monthly, adding that the maize deficit only stood at 85,000 metric tonnes.

"As you may be aware, the agriculture minister Mundia Sikatana announced that we had a carry-over of 190,000 metric tonnes and we have produced about 866,000 metric tonnes meaning the deficit stands at 85,000 metric tonnes. But when you take into consideration the production of foods such as sorghum, millet, wheat and rice among other things, you find that we have a positive balance sheet which is a surplus in maize equivalent of 214,000 metric tonnes," she said.

Luhila said FRA still had a lot of maize even in deficit areas such as Southern Province where FRA still had 21,000 metric tonnes.

"We did not sell maize in Southern Province because we anticipated a shortfall. We have enough stocks especially that we have a carry-over of 111,000 metric tonnes from last year," she said.

Luhila also said FRA would organise irrigation schemes for farmers to enable them produce about 50,000 metric tonnes between March and June.
And Cottan said the prices of maize had been reduced as of July 1 and that the current price of maize was very fair for both commercial and small-scale farmers.

Cottan said the majority of millers had reduced their wholesale prices for maize.

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