• The inflow of maize is very slow.
• FRA, traders, and millers are all competing to buy the same maize on the open market.
• Price of maize and mealie meal is being driven by the demand of the crop.

Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has attributed the upward adjustment in mealie meal prices to high demand for maize on the domestic market by traders, millers, and Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Association President Andrew Chintala noted that this follows FRA’s decision to peg the maize price at K580 per metric tonne, when the cost was previously K4, 000 per metric tonne.
Mr. Chintala explained that now that the millers have also gone on the open market, while the inflow of maize is very slow, there is stiff competition because traders and FRA are also trying to secure enough grain, hence this is driving the cost of the commodity and it’s by products such as mealie meal.
“What is currently happening is that the market just started and if you have observed the takeoff has been very slow in terms of the inflow of the supply of maize on the market. You saw in May FRA announcing the maize price of K580 per tonne, previously the price was K4, 000 per metric tonnes. So just that announcement pushed the maize prices up. So the prices remain stable because some of the millers were buying maize from FRA at the same price.”
“Now that the millers have also gone on the open market, and the inflow of maize is very slow, there is some stiff competition I must admit. FRA, the traders, millers we are all competing to buy the same maize on the open market so the prices are being driven almost every other day because prices keep changing and as a result, this is the impact that you have seen in terms of the upward adjustment of mealie meal prices,” Mr. Chintala explained.
He stated that it is the Association’s hope that once the crop market gets into full swing, there will be stability in prices because the current supply is quite erratic.
“But we hope that once the market gets into full swing, we should be able to see stability because the supply currently is quite erratic, hence the movements that we have seen in the past few days. So let’s not worry much because that price of maize and mealie meal is both driven by the demand of the commodity.
“There is a high demand for maize currently, because all of us traders, millers, FRA we are trying to secure enough maize, so the result of the competition that is there, is what is driving the maize price, and hence the adjustments that we have seen in the other maize by products,” he added.
Mealie meal prices on the local market are currently trading between K230 and K245 for a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast.