Admarc to ration maize
State-owned produce trader Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) has said it will open its maize markets soon to sell the produce.
However, it said maize sales will be rationed to a minimum of 50 kilogrammes (kg) to each consumer.
Admarc spokesperson Agnes Ndovi justified the decision in an interview yesterday, saying this is to ensure that vendors or middlemen do not take advantage of the affordable prices.
She said government has authorised Admarc a monthly draw down of the stocks to be sold in food insecurity hotspots at K300 per kg.
Said Ndovi: “The maize will be sold in hotspots and these are the procedures that have been set by the Ministry of Agriculture. We don’t want this maize to end up in the hands of vendors.”
The recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) under the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) has indicated that 5.4 million Malawians living in rural and secondary urban centres are facing moderate or severe chronic food insecurity.
This represents 33 percent of the population.
Ndovi dismissed fears that the rationing is a result of low stocks due to poor harvest this year.
The first round of crop estimates by the Ministry of Agriculture indicated that the country will this year harvest 3.9 million metric tonnes (MT) of maize, down from 4.4 million MT last year which is a 0.5 million MT drop. While national maize demand stands at 3.4 million MT.
But Ndovi said Admarc has enough stocks to cover the lean period up to the next purchasing season. She said: “Admarc has about 180 000 metric tonnes [MT] in stock, which we bought.”
However, Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Food Security chairperson Sameer Suleman claimed in Parliament on Monday that Admarc does not have such an amount.
He said the maize that Admarc claims it has, belongs to commercial banks as collateral.
Said Suleman: “They have about 132 000 MT but that maize belongs to the banks. It is the same maize they were trying to sell to Zimbabwe.
“They also have 38 869 MT which belongs to the National Food Reserve Agency. So, Admarc has zero maize in stock. If they have maize they should show us. We need to see it [as a committee].”
He also wondered why government was raising the price of maize if Admarc has enough.
Recently, the committee stopped Admarc from proceeding with a maize deal that would have seen the parastatal Admarc exporting 100 000 MT of maize to Zimbabwe after going into an agreement with Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe.
The move to sell the maize was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture which has been insisting that the country has enough maize stocks. However, the ministry later asked Admarc to suspend the deal until an assessment has been made to check maize quantity in the country.
