Business / Economy
Grain prices go up
23 Feb 2016 at 05:13hrs | Views
TRADERS in Bulawayo have increased the price of maize and small grains by more than 50 percent citing increasing demand.
A snap survey by Business Chronicle yesterday revealed that the price of a bucket of maize in the informal market has risen to between $7 and $8 from between $4 and $5. Small grains like wheat and millet are now being sold at $5 per bucket from an average $3.
Traders said demand in the commodities was spurred by fears over food shortages due to drought and anticipated failure of the 2015/16 agriculture season.
Bigboy Lunga, the organising secretary of Malaleni Vendors Association, said the price increase began in December. "We now get our grain at high prices from producers and that leads us to increase the mark up too. Suppliers don't tell us where they get their produce from. As you can see, we don't have much produce to supply," he said.
"The available grain now comes from personal storehouses by farmers and since there's a national grain deficit they increase the price." Another trader, Regina Masuku, said most traders were now getting grain from districts such as Gokwe.
"There's grain scarcity in the country and that's why the prices have increased. As you know if things are scarce then the price will increase," she said. The government has declared a state of national disaster on drought in the wake of the El Nino effect and is already working on mobilising funds to import more grain to ensure no one dies of starvation.
Last week Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe needs around 1.4 million tonnes of maize to take the country through to the next harvesting season in 2017.
He said government efforts were underway to import grain from Zambia and Ukraine while the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe is also seeking to import grain from South America.
A snap survey by Business Chronicle yesterday revealed that the price of a bucket of maize in the informal market has risen to between $7 and $8 from between $4 and $5. Small grains like wheat and millet are now being sold at $5 per bucket from an average $3.
Traders said demand in the commodities was spurred by fears over food shortages due to drought and anticipated failure of the 2015/16 agriculture season.
Bigboy Lunga, the organising secretary of Malaleni Vendors Association, said the price increase began in December. "We now get our grain at high prices from producers and that leads us to increase the mark up too. Suppliers don't tell us where they get their produce from. As you can see, we don't have much produce to supply," he said.
"There's grain scarcity in the country and that's why the prices have increased. As you know if things are scarce then the price will increase," she said. The government has declared a state of national disaster on drought in the wake of the El Nino effect and is already working on mobilising funds to import more grain to ensure no one dies of starvation.
Last week Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe needs around 1.4 million tonnes of maize to take the country through to the next harvesting season in 2017.
He said government efforts were underway to import grain from Zambia and Ukraine while the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe is also seeking to import grain from South America.
Source - chronicle
