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Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe runs out of maize

HARARE - Zimbabwe has run out of maize with the state-controlled Grain Marketing Board (GMB) last week being forced to shut down for days its biggest milling plant at the Aspindale depot in Harare.

Sources within the GMB told ZimOnline yesterday that most silos around the country were virtually empty describing the food security situation in the southern African country as "critical."

The sources added that the GMB Aspindale milling plant was virtually shut down for the greater part of last week because there was no maize triggering fears of widespread shortages of maize-meal across the country.

Maize-meal is the staple food for the majority of Zimbabweans.

"For four days, the plant was shut down because we had nothing in the silos. The situation is critical.

"Unless the country imports more maize in larger quantities, we will soon run out of maize-meal," said a senior official at the depot who refused to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the Press.

Zimbabwe, which has battled severe food shortages over the past seven years, has been importing maize from Zambia and South Africa since late last year following poor harvests the previous farming season.

But the maize imports are said to be failing to satisfy rising demand. Between three and six truckloads of maize are said to be arriving from Zambia every day.

The GMB official said although they expected maize to start trickling in at the end of March and beginning of April when the harvest season begins, the situation was not expected to improve significantly because most farmers are reluctant to sell because of the maize prices stipulated by the government.

GMB chief executive Samuel Muvuti downplayed the looming maize-meal shortage saying only the southern parts of the country were facing shortages.

He said the GMB was mobilizing resources to ensure that enough maize reached the southern parts of the country.

"I want to assure the nation that people should not panic as we are making frantic efforts to import maize. We also have local maize still coming into our depots so there is nothing to worry about," said Muvuti.

Zimbabwe, which was the breadbasket of southern Africa, has grappled severe food shortages over the past seven years after President Robert Mugabe seized white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

The farm disturbances slashed food production by 60 percent resulting in most Zimbabweans relying on food handouts from international donors for survival.

The food crisis is only one of many acute symptoms of Zimbabwe's seven-year old economic meltdown that has also spawned shortages of fuel, electricity, essential medicines, hard cash and just about every basic survival commodity.