By Isaac Zulu
Agriculture minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri has said that government will not halt the exportation of mealie meal.
He was responding to Petauke member of parliament Emmanuel Banda who expressed concern at the high mealie meal prices in his Constituency, despite government offloading maize to millers at a reduced price.
Banda disclosed that a bag of 25 kilogram mealie meal in Petauke district is selling at K280 and wanted to know if government would consider halting the export of the staple food, given the status quo.
But the agriculture minister said that, as a way of reducing the price of the commodity, government has intervened by offloading maize to millers at a reduced price, and wondered why mealie meal prices were still high.
Phiri attributed the high mealie meal prices to the high demand of grade one white maize in neighbouring countries, which he said has made private maize buyers to export the maize grain at exorbitant price.
As a follow up question, Kamfinsa member of parliament Christopher Kang’ombe wanted to know why government has continued with the issuance of export permits for mealie meal given the prevailing high prices of the staple food. But Phiri said that millers should also benefit from the mealie meal prices obtaining in neighbouring countries.
“Government has no intentions of stopping the issuance of export permits for mealie meal, provided the exports are done in a regulated manner. But the export of mealie meal through unregulated means, which is commonly known as smuggling, government; through law enforcement agencies will intervene. And that might result in you forfeiting the commodity and the vehicle or vessel used in the transportation of mealie meal,” Phiri said.
But Nkana member of parliament Binwell Mpundu asked what measures government was putting in place to avert the possible shortage of maize in the country, considering that mealie meal prices have continued to skyrocket, agriculture minister said that the country has sufficient maize stock in the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) storage facilities to last up to the next harvest.
“I can assure the nation that the country has sufficient maize stock in our FRA storage sheds across the country. So there’s no need to fear. There is no need to worry,” said Phiri.
