HARARE – At least 486,717 metric tonnes of maize have been delivered to the Grain Marketing
Board (GMB) since the marketing season opened on April 1, latest data shows. The rainy season of 2021–2022 was characterized by a false start in certain regions of the nation, a
season's late onset in others, and an irregularly distributed rainfall pattern both in geography and time, which led to a reduced yield.
While the country's agricultural productivity has been impacted by rainfall, other factors also appear to be at play given that Zimbabwe's corn yield per hectare is much lower than that of peers in the same climatic region. In order to replenish national stocks, farmers have been obliged to sell their harvest to the GMB. But due to low yields and the GMB’s low prices, many farmers are holding onto their harvests.
The government kept the 90 USD per MT incentive in place while raising the producer price for
maize by 33.3% in July, from 75,000 ZWL to 100,000 ZWL per MT. "Cabinet advises that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) grain stocks as at 16th October, 2022 stood at 563 604 metric tonnes, comprising 486 717 metric tonnes of maize and 76 887 metric tonnes of
traditional grains," said Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa at a cabinet briefing.
Zimbabwe requires 1.8 million tonnes of maize annually.
"Using the monthly consumption rate of 49,294 metric tonnes, the available grain will last for 11.4 months." When and where available, current prices in the majority of deficit-producing areas are up to US$6 per bucket, which are prices that are normally not anticipated until the peak lean season between January and March. The government believes that food-insecure rural households require a total of 720,707 tonnes of cereal to meet their needs over a year, while food-insecure urban households require 500,321 tonnes of maize during the same period.
More than 5 million Zimbabweans, or a third of the population, were reported to be hungry by the United Nations World Food Programme in January. As people struggle with skyrocketing living expenses, concerns are growing that the government's order to sell maize will only make matters worse. Zimbabwe's staple maize crop is in danger due to the harsher and more frequent droughts brought on by climate change. The government is attempting to adapt, but it is having difficulty as it deals with an economic crisis that has been made worse by the COVID-19 outbreak and the war in Ukraine.
With a consumption rate of 21,000 metric tonnes per month, the present wheat inventories, which re at 89,331 metric tonnes this week, will cover the market for 3.6 months, Mutsvangwa added. In several regions of the nation, the winter wheat crop of 2022 is currently being harvested. Statistics show that the southern African nation needs an estimated 400 000 MT of wheat per year to meet its demand. The country is consuming 16,000 metric tonnes of bread flour monthly and about 1.2 million loaves a day, according to the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe.
