Some multinational retail chain stores operating in Zambia are selling imported bread from South Africa which they keep frozen for up to six months.
The action contravenes statutory instrument No.18 of 2009 which banned imports of wheat and wheat products in a bid to stir up the local production of wheat.
The named super markets are selling imported bread and burger rolls which are clearly marked Fresh on Time and Goose Bumps.
The manufacturers of the Goose Bumps claim that their rolls kept frozen, have a six months shelf life.
The rolls are baked in South Africa on 35 Range Road Black Heath 7580 and land on the Zambian market every week.
This is according to the latest edition of the Zambian Farmer magazine, produced by the Zambia National Farmers Union.
The rolls are sold on a special shelf, way from the locally baked fresh bread, in a neat plastic packaging with drawings of wheat for good measure.
The magazine quotes a local bread consumer identified as Ms. Michelle Cantlay of Mkushi who said she was surprised to learn that the super market was stocking imported bread.
She said it is surprising that the outlet was not baking its own bread rolls sing Zambian labour and Zambian wheat.
A local manager at one of the chain stores who was interviewed by the magazine said he does not understand why management opted to import bread from South Africa.
And Mkushi District Farmers Association Chairperson Andrew Moffat warned that “Left unchallenged, this is a loophole that could be exploited to bring in inferior quality produce. It suppresses the market for local wheat and wheat products.
Until about four years ago, Zambia had been a net importer of wheat and wheat imports but within the four years, the country has increased production from about 90,000 metric tons per year to above 260,000 metric tons annually.
Currently, Zambia boasts to be the only country in the region that is self-sustained in wheat production, producing enough to feed itself with surpluses to feed countries in the region.
They don’t know agogos and the other zambian famous brands?
the law that bans importation of wheat and wheat products is there, just enforce it by charging those in violation.
This is not hard to do
Make your own bread for heaven’s sake!
Guys let me tell you something that you Zambians don’t know. I am not afraid to name this national retailer from South Africa Shoprite who brought the down quality of baked products to real crapppp simply by taking short cuts in the process of baking by getting rid of highly qualified bakers/confectioner and bakery managers to pay peanuts to people recruited from the street who does not even have a clue about baking. They started
using all premixes and even with that their quality was absolutely rubbish, then came the
frozen rolls and breads where no special skills are required. Their top management don’t even understand the baking technology. BASICALLY THEY HAVE REMOVED HIGHLY SKILLED BAKERS AND CONFECTIONERS AND REPLACED THEM WITH PREMIXES AND FROZEN ROLLS AND BREADS SO THAT THEY…
It is a sign that something has gone, wrong. Plse leaders these are jobs you are exporting to SA. Who should address this, when you are all busy with by elections?
Very soon Zambia will be importing chikanda..
We already do. A lot of it comes from Tanzania as the orchids that produce the chikanda tuber have been overexploited in Zambia
Cage the culprits…
This is an affront on our patriotic wheat farmers in Zambia. It is morally and legally wrong for our country to import bread just as it is wrong to export soil. I hope law enforcers and local authorities that grant these malls licences are seeing! It should be put to a stop now!
From ZAMBEEF to ZAMBREAD.
Solola Bye!
Well hopefully Vasilis bakery expands. They bake better bread there than what is imported and Supaloaf et al appear to be long gone. Highly recommend it to bread eaters. Reminds me of all small but good bakeries of yester year like Nyathi in Luanshya, that bakery on the square in Kitwe and the Ndola ones whose names I can’t remember. Better still bake your own.
Nyanti bread was good
For those that dont know AGOGO baked bread is the best in the country; just try it and you forget about the imported junk from South Africa. I wonder what management at the Chain stores from South Africa think about Zambian products. For sure in this age how can one import bread/ rolls to feed the local markert? Or its just giving business to their friends / business associates. These chaps must be watched they are deliberately creating one problem after another. May the powes be check them out. We cant be exporting jobs to other countries when we need them locally like yesterday. Our farmers are growing enough to feed the nation and surplus to export. Lets watch out such dirty dribbling.
I see no reason why we can not import bread if our own bread is like a spongy piece of paper. you can not smear butter or jam on it because it too light. those who eat bread on the copperbelt especially ceres, G&G, Devine ,Luansya bakery name them, very useless. shoprite bread is much better. if local bread is useless let them give us better bread not just for sake of promoting local intweno
This should be stopped forth with. This will destroy wheat production and its value chain just like when MMD opened the trading gates in the 1990s to the point where the local industry collapsed.
We told you that our so called leaders have made Zambia the failed state. No country worth it’s salt can allow baked bread from another country. Stop this nonsense from these superstores. Charge them heavily so they stop their practice
I leaved in South Africa and I know what kind of bread is being talked about. It is usually found at the main entrance of Shoprite Manda Hill and surprisingly what is sold in South Africa as ordinary brown bread, here it is labelled as health bread. It is not as good as the brands we have from our own bakers such as Melisa.
It is “I lived in South Africa….” and not “I leaved in South Africa…..”
Sasko Bread
We used to have super loaf. Alas those days are long gone. Never to return…….
Thanks Chilungamo, slip of the …..
South Africans are behind in terms of historical development. They have forgotten who we are. They have forgotten that we started making our own bread 49 years ago when they only started making theirs 19 years ago. This bread surely expires before it crosses into Zambia.
“Currently,Zambia boasts to be the only country in the region that is self-sustained in wheat production,producing enough to feed itself with surpluses to feed countries in the region”
260000 metric tonnes of wheat annually is not sustainable for a population of 13mn.This translates in every Zambian consuming 20 kgs of wheat products per year.If we can even find some to export from the 260000 tonnes,then a lot of Zambians do not consume wheat products, or do they prefer imported wheat products?
ITs soo true actually, I’ve bought bread in shoprite that’s made in South Africa at Cairo Shoprite. This has to be adressed and fast especially shoprite is becoming notorious. Theve been exploiting our workers for along time. Now they want to be importing bread? Authoritie must come in and stop this nonsense.
Why did you buy it?
Apart from Chilala (a tonga man) in Mkushi which other black Zambian grows wheat in Zambia?