The Fruits and Vegetables Association of Zambia has challenged the government to lift the ban on potato importation in a bid to cut down the high cost of the commodity.
Association President Bernard Sikunyongana said Zambia is experiencing a potato shortage, and this has led to a public outcry as the prices of potatoes skyrocket across the country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sikunyongana acknowledged the high cost of local potatoes and attributed it to the shortage of the commodity on the local market. According to Sikunyongana, a 10kg bag of potatoes in some supermarkets is selling at about K200, while the same bag in some far-flung areas is selling at over K200.
Sikunyongana projected that the cost of potatoes might go up to over K250 if the ban on importation is not lifted. He further warned that the cost of potatoes might even go higher because of the low potato yields expected from small-scale farmers who grew rain-fed potatoes that got damaged due to the lack of rainfall the country experienced in the 2023 farming season.
Sikunyongana has since reiterated the need for the government to lift the ban on the importation of potatoes to see potato prices trading lower to around K130.
“History has its own records because every year in March, we allow the importation of potatoes for three months until when the production for our local potatoes increases. But as it is, the prices of potatoes have gone up because there are not enough potatoes to cover everyone in the country, and this is why we’ve asked the Ministry of Agriculture to open the borders so that we import. Because once we import, the prices will start trading lower around K130 to K150, but right now, a 10kg bag of potatoes is selling above K200 because we do not have enough in the country,” he said.
Sikunyongana warned that the high cost of potatoes is likely to continue if governmnet do not allow the importation of potatoes now, and the prices will go above K250, causing the food basket to go upwards since potatoes are in the food basket.
He further added that few people would afford to buy potatoes because a bag of potatoes would cost more than a bag of mealie meal.
