Staff Reporter

As at 18 July 2021, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) had recorded delivery of 492 481 Metric Tonnes (MT) of maize against the Strategic Grain Reserve requirement of 500 000 MT, a contact within the Parastatal has said.

This year’s bumper harvest was made possible by the normal to above normal rainfall the country received, coupled with Government inputs programmes like the climate-proofed Presidential Inputs Scheme popularly known as Pfumvudza/Intwasa in which 2.5 million households benefited. All the 2.5 million households including beneficiaries of the CBZ Agro yield were required to deliver their maize to the GMB.

According to the contact, there has, however, been a decline in grain intake due to restricted and delayed movement of grain under the reviewed lockdown measures.

“Grain sales to millers have recently declined due to reduced demand. During the week ending 17 July 2021, millers bought 4 194MT of maize against a weekly requirement of about 11 000MT. The Social Welfare Department has also reduced the demand for maize to 10 percent which is 3 500MT per month highlighting that maize to the vulnerable was only being received in critical areas,” said the contact.

The contact further revealed that the total maize stocks available for consumption as at 18 July 2021 stood at 508 772MT, which comprises of 11 542MT from Japanese World Food Program donation and 497 230MT from the GMB maize stocks. The total traditional grains available stood at 52 600MT, of which 49 921MT was from the current marketing season, and a total 10 999MT of soya beans was also available.

According to the contact, wheat stocks available in the country stood at 84 767MT and was enough to cover 2.8 months at a national consumption rate of 30 000MT per month.

 “GMB is expected to import 30 000MT of wheat to cover for consumption during that period, as produce from winter wheat is only expected to trickle in by the end of September 2021,” said the contact.