CCZ monitors mealie-meal supplies

THe Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) says it has noticed improvements on the availability of mealie-meal on the retail market following reports of panic buying over drought fears.

President emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday declared the drought a national disaster and said over US$2 billion was needed to feed hungry Zimbabweans.

Last week, several big retail shops reported not having mealie-meal in their shops with some said to be restricting the number of bags customers could buy.

In a statement on Tuesday, CCZ executive director Rosemary Mpofu said the market had witnessed an improvement in volumes of supply.

“Meal-mealie is readily available on the market, both formal and informal markets. In major retail shops such as OK Zimbabwe, a 10kg bag of roller meal is going for US6,15 while Pick n Pay is selling it for an average price of ZWL$163 700 a major drop from last month’s price of ZWL$193 000 showing a great improvement in volumes of supply and a reduction in the price of mealie-meal,” Mpofu said.

CCZ conducts weekly surveys of demand and supply as well as prices of various commodities across.

“In the informal market, the tuckshops and vendors are selling a 10kg bag of roller meal at US5, while vendors are selling a bucket of maize (20kg) at US10,” Mpofu said.

Zambia and Malawi have also declared the drought a state of disaster in their respective countries.

In March, USAid’s food security arm, Famine early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet), reported that most markets across the zone and districts had no maize or small grains.

FewsNet further indicated that South Africa will likely continue to be the main source of maize imports.