Government has authorised millers to increase mealie-meal prices in which a 25 kg bag of breakfast will retail KR55 from the current KR50 to offset shortages of the commodity in certain towns.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister Bob Sichinga said the decision followed a Cabinet meeting held on Monday aimed at enabling the millers speed up distribution of mealie-meal especially in needy areas.
Mr Sichinga said at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the new price of a 25 kg bag of roller meal would be between KR35 and KR37 from the current retail price of about KR40.
“Now that the millers have been allowed to sell at a slightly higher price, we expect shortages and prices of mealie-meal in some areas to normalise as the increase would enable them distribute to even far flung areas,” he said.
He said there was no mealie-meal shortage in the country but that the scarcity in some towns was caused as a result of continued inadequate milling capacity to supply the commodity due to growing population.
He said, as of March 20, 2013, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had in its stock 687, 819 tonnes of maize which was sufficient to last the country for the next six months.
He said the milling capacity in other provinces apart from Lusaka and Copperbelt was inadequate and that the development had resulted into shortages of mealie-meal.
He said Lusaka and Copperbelt had several milling firms with sufficient capacity compared to other provinces among others Eastern and Muchinga.
Among other milling firms in Lusaka were National milling, Superior, Shabco, African, GBM, Chat and Star while on Copperbelt there was Olympic in Mufulira, Antelope in Luanshya and Chimangachanga in Ndola.
Mr Sichinga said Government was currently engaging the private sector to set up more milling plants especially in areas experiencing shortages of mealie-meal to meet the high demands.
He, however, said the private sector raised concerns such as transportation costs of maize to their facilities but that Government was also working on modalities to create additional storage in many locations.
He said mealie-meal shortages were also caused by increased smuggling into neighbouring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Zambia (DRC) because they had insufficient maize grains.
He said most of Zambia’s neighbouring countries had shortages of maize grain resulting into continuous high demand and that his ministry and its Commerce counterpart had been holding discussions to legalise exports of mealie meal.
Mr Sichinga said if the neighbouring countries wanted assistance, they needed to approach the Government to facilitate trade on a government to government basis.
Currently, Zimbabwe had requested for 150,000 tonnes of maize, Tanzania 89, 000 tonnes, Malawi 135,000 tonnes and the World Food Programme (WFP) 24,000 tonnes.
Mr Sichinga said President Michael Sata would not allow any of Zambia’s neighbouring nations to go hungry as long as Zambia had sufficient maize stocks to feed its citizens.
He said the export of maize would also help to create space for the new stock during this marketing season adding that the move would raise money to for FRA pay back bank loans.
U seem not to know wat u re doing
May i kindly have a pf comment on this one…what is this increase? what were yo campaign promises? Man of action!! really!! Pipo HH 2016 atleast we my see more of business booming with more economical benefits…
PF more money in whose pocket
“More money in your pockets” with an even bigger hole in your pockets. LoL
reducing shortages by increasing the price, what logic behind this Bob. Guys you have failed. find a valid point to justify your statement.
The logic is very simple. The shortages are in outlying areas that millers and transporters cannot reach at Mr. Sata’s fixed price.
The real problem with Bob’s statement is that K5 is somehow meant to cover transport to EVERYWHERE….. which is obviously nonsense so don’t expect the problem to go away anytime soon.
these guys seem to be confused .., its simple logic.. the further u go from the point of production the more costly it becomes.. this government is useless… this is what the millers have been saying.. get a grip guys
Over the past 17 or so years the only brands of Mealie meal you could buy in the DRC has been Zambuan and we never had a shortage of the comodity then . What has chaned now iwe ka Bob Sichinga for DRC to be blamed for the mealie meal shortages.I suppose that expkination was neant to placate your igorant cadres and suppoters and not right thinking Zambians.We need a more comprehensive and factual response from the government and nit b this blubbering we are getting.
I see want he meant at first i was confused, anyway this means millers will have more money to even have capacity to reach remote areas where there is shortage of mealie meal, but who will buy mealie meal at high price in those far poverty stricken areas? wow iliko trick
“He said there was no mealie-meal shortage in the country but that the scarcity in some towns was caused as a result of continued inadequate milling capacity to supply the commodity due to growing population” This man is dull!
I was of the same view. This Sichinga is not only dull but mad. This family tree is taking us nowhere.
has the population just exploded today!! ka Sichinga ka Bufi.
I used to think this kama chap was clever but as everyone in PF – it’s all talk and no substance: birds of a feather….
The PF Goons said they will not allow millers to charge more than useless Kwacha rebased KR50 per 25kg bag. That they will deal firmly with anybody not toeing the PF Line.
Now PF has capitulated as always….. CNP.
Now the millers are dealing with PF. What a pathetic govt!!! Not worth my respect.
So this means that that Kitwe PF cader misquandering as a DC will have to go back to those shops he was changing price tags to do further adjustments, lol. PF is a joke of a govt.
kekekekekekekekekeke, i guess he has to do that first thing this morning. Alex that is laughable but seriously where did that Kabwe DC get the mandate to go round shops and adjust prices, its really shameful.
That is why foreign media say we lack clear policy in most spheres hence becoming an unattractive destination for investment.
Wonama!
DULL AND USELESS CHAPS WHO HAVE FAILED TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY.SO ZAMBIANS ARE GOING TO GO STARVE BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO SEE OUR NEIGHBOURS GO HUNGRY.ASK MUGABE WHY HE CHASED THOSE WHITE FARMERS WHO WERE PRODUCING FOOD FOR THEM.
I am surprised that Zambia’s population has tripled in less than 2 years that PF has been in Govt, such that the Millers cannot provide enough for this ever growing population- the Sichinga logic. my foot!
Increased mealie-meal prices?
“25 kg bag of breakfast will retail KR55 from the current KR50”
“New price of a 25 kg bag of roller meal would be between KR35 and KR37 from the current retail price of about KR40”
Increased for the breakfast mealie-meal, but reduced for the roller mealie-meal?
The moment i heard that Sata was elected president of Zambia, the first thing i said was, “under Sata, Zambia will be a failed State”. So, for me i am not surprized what is happening in Zambia. What is surprizing though is how Sata has managed to destroy Zambia within a very short period of his presidency. Thw big question is, why is Sata destroying our country, what is frustrating him to destroy our country? I really fail to understand this man, he habors so much evil against the country.
What is going on? For the past several weeks Government has been condemning Miilers for price increases,blaming the shortages on Millers.It really seems they don’t know anything about running the affairs of the country.Chimbwi no plan.Now you want to export maize when Zambia is facing its own shortages.
what has just gone wrong with you bob?you guys you used to talk so much before getting to power, what has gone wrong with your prophesies of redeeming zambia? shame on you.fuel shortage,mealie meal,no money in our pockets,everything is just wrong with you.
ask yourself,under chiluba,mwanawasa and bwezani we never experienced any of these things then what has gone wrong sir?too bad, any how God is watching,wake up zambia,its time.
Hi Mr Bob, i thot you are the commerce minister,when did you end up at Agriculture?Its sad that you have not told us what you did with the 3 Trillion you found in N Province when you came into power. Now you say we have enough Maize stocks and that the are no shortages but at the same time you are increasing mealie meal in order to kill shortages. You see now Bob that you look more foolish with each day passing by because you and your boss thought running a country is as simple as holding a rally beneath a mango tree and say a lot of lies to a group of lazy boys and girls. Bob, have you noticed that you picture above indicates that you are commerce minister and yet not, because changes in you Govt are happening every day. Thats how useless and hopeless you and your boss are. Liars!
“Government has authorised millers to increase mealie-meal prices in which a 25 kg bag of breakfast will retail KR55 from the current KR50 to offset shortages” hahaha but the 25kg is ALREADY selling above KR60 in many places ….
They have NOT allowed millers to increase prices. They have just given millers a new, slightly higher price. It is still LOWER than what is obtaining on the ground.
I ve always suspected Bob Sichinga masquerades as an intellectual when he’s way down the line. The speech above confirms my suspicions. He’s a fast talking Northerner who has a forte in hiding his inadequacies through the ‘Formula One’ supersonic speed tongue twisting speeches. After everything has been said and done, it comes down to what he exactly is, a typical supremacist Northerner. What else?
hahahaha..what a govt..!shame…
Govt has bowled down to the Millers strategy en demands, they stopped producing 25kg bags but only 10kgs which they can sell at 26KR meaning a 25kg is selling for Kr60 – good business strategy. If we have more milling companies on the Copperbelt then why the shortage…Bob???? we told u that u cant fight the forces of supply and demand coz they are too forceful. mwasebana bane
We are in trouble! Cabinet is now deciding the price of mealie meal. The PF govt is a total mess.
The solution is to pread hammer mills thoughout the country. The final meal product is not only healthier nutrutionally but also will be available in all parts of the country cause the hammer mills can also be driven by diesel, where there are not millers. What happened to the this idea? Bob is a Fluke
Current prices KR 50.00 in Kitwe , KR 70.00 in Chililabombwe , KR 120.00 at Kasumbalesa border and KR 250.00 in Congo. The millers on the Copperbelt are taking their products to Congo creating a shortage here.
surpurised- a cabinet meeting just to discuss how to make citizens suffer.
how much sitting allowances (rebased) did you pay each other on expense of our suffering for that particular cabinet meeting?enjoying yourselfs
How much does it cost the miller to produce a bag of mealie meal? This is where we should start from before we consider increasing the price of mealie meal. We have enough capacity to produce mealie meal, not all millers are producing at full capacity. Settting up new plants would not make business sense. We expect to see more action than mere rethoric from our political leadership, this problem is real, shortages are there and prices are astronomical way beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen. Let us put our house in order before start considering our neighbours!
JOb on training Pf govt.I’m sure now its crystal clear to pf govt that it is easier said than done
So the presidential decree; K50/bag has been reversed already by the Millers pressure? Filiukotuleya!
We know the market value is K90, so I suspect this will be the price by the end of the year unless we get another degree….
PRICE CONTROL/FIXING HAS NO PLACE IN MODERN LIBERALISED ECONOMIES. I THEREFORE DOUBT THE MERIT OF THAT CABINET MEETING. BY THE WAY WHO CHAIRED THE MEETING?
Bob, th e fake economist from Havard University has lamentably failed simple economics of maize and mealie meal in in Zambia, he must have obtained a bare pass and that explains why a graduate from such a renowned university has resorted to cheap and thugery politics of rotten brains of maiko sata in order to ean a living.
i quote, ”
He said there was no mealie-meal shortage in the country but that the scarcity in some towns was caused as a result of continued inadequate milling capacity to supply the commodity due to growing population”
Is scarcity not shotrtage ba Sichinga? The problem is you speak English when reasonong is in Bemba and your maifesto can only be understood by Bemba speakers.
Mwafilwa ba Mudala kabiyeni mukulima fyumbu before it stops raining .