UPND ASSURES THAT ANTICIPATED BUMPER HARVEST WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN MEALIE MEALE PRICES
By Nonhlanhla Phuti
UPND Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa says the anticipated bumper harvest from the current farming season, will see a significant reduction in pricing of mealie-meal on the local market.
Mr. Mweetwa says once Zambia produces excess maize for millers to access, the law of demand and supply will affect the pricing of mealie meal positively to facilitate a reduction.
Mr. Mweetwa notes that the increased maize buying price from K180 to K280 in this year’s crop marketing season is meant to stimulate more production to satisfy the local market and is expected to drop the mealie-meal prices.
The UPND Spokesperson in an interview has cited interventions such as increasing the maize pricing and the early distribution of farming inputs, as deliberate efforts by government toward a bumper harvest and to trigger a direct reduction in the pricing of mealie-meal.
And Mr. Mweetwa says government’s decision to export meal-meal to the Democratic Republic of Congo -DRC- will not in any way cause food crisis as the maize exported is from excess stock.
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