Staff Reporter

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MLAFWRD) Ministry has reportedly set the price of both utility and premium wheat to millers at ZWL$56 000 per metric tonne (MT), a source within the Ministry has revealed.

According to the source, MLAFWRD Minister Anxious Masuka verbally instructed the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to start selling both utility and premium wheat at that price.

“Of late millers were unable to purchase wheat from the GMB because there had been a misunderstanding between the MLAFWRD and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) over the appropriate wheat selling price.

“The MLAFWRD proposed a subsidy on the selling price in an effort to control increases in the price of flour and bread, while the MoFED on the other hand proposed to kill the subsidy concept to put at par the producer price and the selling price,” said the source.

The source revealed to this publication that the MoFED was against a subsidy citing that millers may abuse the facility and buy the wheat from the GMB at ZWL$56 000 and re-sell it to the same GMB at ZWL$66 621.22 per MT.

Following the new price, Treasury will have to pay a subsidy of ZWL$10 621.22 per MT on premium wheat for the producer price of ZWL$66 621.22 per MT. To note is that the utility wheat does not have a subsidy as its producer price is ZWL$55 517. 69.

Meanwhile as at 14 November 2021, a total of 176 263 MT of wheat had been delivered to the GMB against 144 215 MT delivered same period last year. For the first time since 2005, the country is looking forward to be wheat self-sufficient.