The Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) says it is saddened with the recent hike in mealie meal prices in various parts of the country.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Kitwe today, ZACA Executive Secretary, Muyunda Ililonga, said government should intervene and halt the hiking of prices of mealie meal.
Mr. Ililonga said the recent hike in mealie prices was an exploitation of the consumers.
He said that maize meal was a staple food in Zambia and therefore, it would be unfortunate to let some milling companies to exploit consumers in the name of a liberalised market.
Mr. Ililonga said consumers in Zambia should not be taken for granted and demanded governments’ action on this matter.
Do you read world-wide over the escalating prices of grains? You produce more and the prices will go down. The law of supply and demand is in action. You should expect even an increase in the mealie-meal prices this year because of the floods unless there will be more food produced. Yes maize can be staple food but if you don’t produce enough there is no way that the price can automatically reduce. Cinene talyi. You like being spoon fed by the govt. It is high time you started working hard. Zambia is endowed with a lot rivers but how much of that water is harvested to be used off season for irrigation.
Do you read world-wide over the escalating prices of grains? You produce more and the prices will go down. The law of supply and demand is in action. You should expect even an increase in the mealie-meal prices this year because of the floods unless there will be more food produced. Yes maize can be staple food but if you don’t produce enough there is no way that the price can automatically reduce. Cinene talyi. You like being spoon fed by the govt. It is high time you started working hard. Zambia is endowed with a lot of rivers but how much of that water is harvested to be used off season for irrigation.
i think that my friend here has forgotten that maize is the staple food for zambian people meaning that almost the all zambian population depends on it. therefore as far as it is concerned ,to hell with the law of supply and demand. In times like this the government has to come in,there is no need to boast of working hard here
How does the government come in?
There is no supply and demand here, it’s just this gov lucks ideas.
What are those ideas? You can suggest what the govt ought to do
The FRA has in store a lot of maize which they’re currently exporting not only to Zimbabwe but to other neighbouring countries, remember the harvest was so much that we even had to donate twice to WHO. Why should FRA be busy exporting the commodity when the millers have run out of stock? The basic idea that govt should do is to ensure that the local millers are sold maize first then export the surplus if any and not otherwise. The other solution is to ensure control of exportation of maize and other related products coz a lot is being exported and smuggled uncontrolled more especially to Congo. Sometimes u would wonder what our security personnel do at these borders.
Their you go #7 shimaini has just given you some suggestions.
What is the average price of mealie meal in Lusaka now and the price of live chicken ?
Grain prices have sky rocketed all over the world. Rice, wheat and maize prices have quadrupled. Solution: grow more. Alternatively your government should reduce or do away with taxes that contribute to the current price of meali meal.
Thanks #7 for that informative piece of information. the fact that FRA donates to WHO makes me sick, its make me so sick that i dont really understand if the boys in govt really think like our friends i the west, look at this this way, whay should our govt donate grain to WTO in huge quantities when the price of a bag of mealie meal is at such a high price that a common Zambian cannot afford it, whay cant we just supply more to mealers so that the price benefit can be reflected on to the consumers as the high supply less price, this is simple basic economics and way can we also donate the remaining to many orphanages around the country as i believe we have many orphanages…..
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that are in dire need of such commodities other than seeing people in town begging you money for food, its shameful so pliz if there is someone who works for the GRZ we would like to hear the govt stance on this issue….
ZACA time for price controls is over. And so is time to susidise consumption, but production.There should be no price control whatsoever, but everthing should be left to markert forces (the law of supply and demand)as # 1 and 2 ha s rightly put it.By saying this I do seek the current sky-rocketing of nealie meal prices justifiable because apllying the law of supply and demand to teh zambian situation, one wonders why mealie mean can be so expensive when just last year we boasted of abamper harvest. where is teh stock? Off course exported. Now the question is why should you export maize without first flooding the local market? Cont…
for a country to export food items it means it has surplus…otherwise it is poor planning of the worst kind to export without storing some reserves for the local market and for emergency purposes. # 1 has also talked about the expected hike this year due to floods. may I eduacte my leant colleague that the impact of thsi years floods on food production can not be felt this year, but next year.Even with drought effects can easily be evaded with proper planning especially that we have had 3 or 4 yrs of bumper harvest.What our leaders lack is planning. They have a myopic view.
Economic growth in the east has meant that the most populous countries are now catching up with the west in consuming more food. Conversion of food grains and vegetable oil is also worsening the situation of food prices. Coupled with climate changes and the weakening of the US dollar, the developing world are yet to see more challenges in feeding the masses. The solution does not lye in subsdizing mealie meal in our case, but further subsidising fertilizer and farming equipment, growing more for export at world prices and and using such proceeds to cushion home consumption. This will sustain the needs of our urban dwellers, otherwise there is no money for coupons bane! For now just adjust!
wht is the price of mealie meal, like 25kg. can someone let me know please?
No. 2 is correct. A free market economy does not need government interference and prices are purely determined by the laws of supply and demand. Hence, instead of trying to complain to the government, let ZACA advise its consumers to substitute consumption of grain for some other food. When the demand goes down, the equilibrium price will be forced to shift downwards. Some of you people should learn to read instead of just writing comments. And don’t say nshima is all u can eat as that is what contributes to reducing ur cd4 count. Learn to eat other foods
please people of zambia its high time you started understanding economical issues. and even understand the laws of supply and demand.
Bravo Shimaini good thinking. In fact the Government is capable of arresting this situation