MEALLIE MEAL PRICES TO REMAIN HIGH DESPITE CLAIMS OF BUMBER HARVEST The price of mealie meal will remain high despite the forecast bumper maize harvest of 3,350,671 metric tonnes. Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) president Allan Sakala said yesterday that his association decided to maintain the current wholesale price of mealie meal. While the wholesale price of a 25 kg bag of mealie meal range from K60 to K65, retailers sell the mealie meal above K70. Mr Sakala said the decision to maintain the wholesale price of mealie meal was arrived at after a consultative stakeholders meeting in Lusaka. “People should know that as we go to the market for the 2013/2014 farming season, the prices of mealie meal will remain the same,” Mr Sakala said. He however said towards November/December the maize being bought today would start accumulating interest because storage cost may go up and force the millers to adjust the prices of mealie meal cost. Mr Sakala also said the association was expecting to see a marginal decrease in the price of mealie meal in July/August. He said the marginal decrease would be due to old stock of maize but that the price would later go up. Last week, the Millers association welcomed government’s increase of the 2013/2014 maize floor price by K5. Minister of Agriculture Wybur Simuusa said the floor price of a 50 kg bag of maize would be K70 from K65. The country is this year expected to record a bumper maize harvest of 3,350,671 metric tonnes, representing an increase of 32.29 percent from last year’s 2,532,800 metric tonnes. DAILY NATION
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:58:25 +0000