Leafias Mazviro
Zimbabwe is set to export 10 000 tonnes of maize to Rwanda as the country’s Grain Marketing Board holds 204 084 metric tons of Maize and
41 464 metric tons of traditional grains. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Service Minister Monica Mutsvangwa during a post cabinet meeting said the Grain Marketing Board will export 10 000 metric tonnes of maize to Rwanda.
“Millers and stock-feed manufacturers are being allocated 27 000 metric tons, SILO Foods 16 000 metric tons per month, and an additional 10 000
metric tons will be sold to Rwanda.
The available grain will last 5-6 months. This shows that Zimbabwe has sufficient grain to carry it through to the next season,” she said.
The Government is in negotiations with other countries on possible wheat exports as country holds 140 029 tonnes, which will save country for eight months.
“Considering that the country is wheat self-sufficient, discussions are underway with neighbouring countries on possible wheat exports,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
Farmers have put 86 466 hectares under wheat, 14 percent more than last year.
This is the most hectarage that the country has ever put to the crop, and may lead to a bigger harvest than last year’s record wheat crop.
According to Cabinet, 70 percent of the country’s wheat is grown by smallscale resettled farmers.
About 76 percent of the 2023 wheat hectarage is funded by the private sector, according to Graeme Murdoch, chairman of the Food Crop Contractors Association (FCCA), made up of commodity traders and millers.