Zambia is self s
The Zambia National Farmers Union – ZNFU has clarified that Zambia is self sufficient as far as wheat production is concerned and that there is no need to resort to imports.
This revelation is however contrary to assertions in the Ministerial Statement that depicted that the country has a net production deficit of about 110,000 tons for the 2022/2023 Agro season.
Speaking in a separate exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, ZNFU Wheat chairperson Blair McLeod stated that it’s disturbing to hear that there is a deficit as the country has more water and electricity supply has improved coupled with increased hectarage under cultivation last year.
McLoed stated that last year, Wheat farmers who are members of ZNFU produced about 370,000 tons plus another 50,000 from wheat farmers who are not members of ZNFU. This adds up to a total production for the country of 420,000 tons of wheat.
ZNFU wheat chairman stated that every year, the Millers Association of Zambia – MAZ states their demand as far as the need to import is, but precious year’s show that they have imported less and less as production has been increasing, so the deficit that need to be covered by imports is definitely less and should not be anywhere above 100,000 tons.
When asked about the estimated consumption in Zambia for both domestic and industrial use, McLoed stated that though its difficult to come up an exact number, ZNFU estimates that consumption is somewhere between 300k to 350k tons, making the country a surplus wheat producer.
ZNFU further indicated that if export volumes for flour were to be accurately measured, then the country would be able to have more accurate figures on local wheat consumption.
A check by ZBT on the ZRA website revealed that no flour exports details are available and efforts are underway to get official numbers from the revenue agency. The lack of details results in Zambia being depicted as an importer of wheat, and data for the export of flour, so this distortion needs attention by policy makers.
A further check with market players by ZBT reveals that locally produced wheat is currently being rated as having the best quality, but some inferior wheat commodities are being imported with some mixed with the good quality locally produced wheat, a practice which needs to be investigated and loopholes closed to support market efficiency.