News / National
Dealers sell imported maize to GMB
10 Sep 2015 at 10:40hrs | Views
Zimbabwe Reserve Bank governor John Mangudya has claimed that licenced maize importers are reselling the grain to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) for profit.
The maize is from Zambia.
Zimbabwe requires at least 1.8 million tons of maize annually and has over the years relied on imports from neighbouring countries, including Zambia and South Africa, to plug the gap from local production.
Domestic output is expected to drop by 35 percent to 950 000 tons this year compared with 2014,
Government issued permits to individuals to facilitate the maize imports from Zambia; a development Mangudya said has created arbitrage opportunities for ‘greedy dealers.'
"Because of the price difference between GMB, which is paying $390 to farmers and imported price from Zambia, which varies between $240 to $250, the permits holders are now double dipping," he said.
"This is creating a hive of corruption. Who is benefiting here? It's not the government, it's greedy individuals who are benefiting at the expense of the farmers. GMB takes the maize thinking it's coming from the farmers but it's not, its imported maize. This should stop. It's brewing more problems for the country," he said.
GMB has paid off $90 million of its debt to farmers and expects to clear of the remaining $14 million in the next two weeks.
The maize is from Zambia.
Zimbabwe requires at least 1.8 million tons of maize annually and has over the years relied on imports from neighbouring countries, including Zambia and South Africa, to plug the gap from local production.
Domestic output is expected to drop by 35 percent to 950 000 tons this year compared with 2014,
Government issued permits to individuals to facilitate the maize imports from Zambia; a development Mangudya said has created arbitrage opportunities for ‘greedy dealers.'
"Because of the price difference between GMB, which is paying $390 to farmers and imported price from Zambia, which varies between $240 to $250, the permits holders are now double dipping," he said.
"This is creating a hive of corruption. Who is benefiting here? It's not the government, it's greedy individuals who are benefiting at the expense of the farmers. GMB takes the maize thinking it's coming from the farmers but it's not, its imported maize. This should stop. It's brewing more problems for the country," he said.
GMB has paid off $90 million of its debt to farmers and expects to clear of the remaining $14 million in the next two weeks.
Source - Byo24News
