Maize price hike will hurt the poor-CUTS

THE anticipated mealie meal price hike, in view of foreseen maize prices increase, will negatively affect the common man because many eat nshima as staple food,

says Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) board member Yusuf Dodia.

In an interview, Mr. Dodia said it was a normal market force that if the maize price increased then mealie meal cost would equally go up.

He prodded the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to put up precautionary measures to cushion the effects of the prices of mealie meal.

“The normal market force is that definitely when the maize price is hiked then the mealie meal price will shoot up. This will affect the common man, as you know nshima is our staple food and we urge the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Reserve Agency to put in place precautionary measures to cushion such impact,” he said.

But the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) said it expected mealie meal prices in the following months to be even more stable because farmers would offload more maize on the market.

MAZ president Andrew Chintala said it was too early to predict that mealie meal prices would go up in the 2017/18 crop marketing season.

He said the maize moisture content was still high hence farmers were holding on to their commodity.

Zambia National Farmers Union president Jervis Zimba said he was studying the crop forecast and that he would issue a comprehensive statement in due course.

Mr. Zimba said he could not jump to conclusions on whether maize prices would increase.