FRA releases 150 tonnes of maize to Mazabuka miller

FRA releases 150 tonnes of maize to Mazabuka miller
Written by Henry Chibulu in Mazabuka
Monday, December 22, 2008 8:43:20 AM

THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has released 150 metric tonnes of white maize to Kapinga Milling Company of Mazabuka following the government’s directive that the commodity be offloaded to millers.

Kapinga Milling Company manager Grant Mwankontami confirmed the development in Mazabuka yesterday.

The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, recently directed the FRA to offload maize to millers in an effort to help reduce the price of mealie-meal on the market.

Mwankontami said the release of the maize, although not sufficient, would help the company in producing enough mealie meal to satisfy the growing demand of the commodity among its clients in Mazabuka, Kafue and Lusaka.

He said the monthly allocation of 150 metric tonnes from FRA, in addition to the maize the company bought from farmers in the last maize marketing period, would guarantee a steady supply of mealie-meal until April next year.

Mwankontami also said Kapinga Milling would maintain the current price of mealie-meal until after the harvest period.

He said currently, a 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast is fetching at around K52,500 while roller meal is selling at K 46,500 for the same quantity.

The FRA is expected to offload 20,000 metric tonnes of maize onto the market on a monthly basis at K60,000 per 50 kilogramme bag. The FRA and the government are also concluding plans to import 100,000 metric tonnes of white non-GMO maize from within the region to cushion the impact of the commodity’s shortage on local consumers.