Hicho unachokiulizia ndo nachokitafuta pia mkuu, mi nimesoma tu kwenye vichwa vya magazeti. Natamani kupata taarifa zaidi kwa mwenye nazo
Tanzania set to export maize, cassava to China
Hebu Anzia hapahapa JF 2015 habari kama hii ilikkuwepo.
The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Uledi Mussa
Tanzania has submitted to the government of China a draft contract for selling maize as the country seeks markets for surplus produce of food crops, following bumper harvest during the last farming season.
Apart from maize, Tanzania is also looking forward to exporting cassava to China. The later is set to dispatch experts to the former to ascertain whether the standards of locally produced cassava meet those required by China.
During President Jakaya Kikwete's visit to China last year, the populous far-eastern nation showed interests of buying up to one million tonnes of maize.
The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Uledi Mussa, said in an interview that the draft was presented to the Chinese embassy in Tanzania over several months ago.
"China currently buys food crops from nine other African countries, but showed interest to buy our maize last year and we presented to them a draft contract for consideration of buying maize from Tanzania as well.
"If the Chinese government endorses the contract alongside tests on standards required by their market, we will be able to sell the stock to them anytime from now.
The draft document has been copied to our envoy in Beijing," the PS said during a telephone interview. PS Uledi explained further that China only buys food crops after it has satisfied itself that the country from which it is buying has enough food stocks for its population and that the respective produce is not genetically modified.
"China used to import maize from the United States but stopped after the latter started using Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) technology in cultivation of the food crop," he stated.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to the PS, is at present working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives to ensure there is enough stock should the government of China endorse the plan to import maize from Tanzania.
"We are also working with Regional Administrative Secretaries (RASs) to coordinate with Strategic Food Reserve Agency (SFRA) depots in their respective regions on availability of maize stocks to be sold to foreign markets," Uledi noted.
Apart from maize, Tanzania is also looking forward to exporting cassava to China. The later is set to dispatch experts to the former to ascertain whether the standards of locally produced cassava meet those required by China.
The PS added that the country was looking for other markets in neighbouring countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Burundi, among others.
Meanwhile, Kenya was expected to import maize from Tanzania last may, this year when the domestic stock was expected to run out following a deficit of 10 million bags in last season's output.
Agriculture Secretary Felix Koskei said the government expects up to three million bags through cross-border trade with Uganda and Tanzania to alleviate a shortage of 10 million bags before the next harvest.
"We expect to ease the shortage by getting maize stocks from the East Africa Community bloc. The stocks are supposed to last until May when we will consider imports," says Koskei.
Uganda and Tanzania traditionally supplement maize production in Kenya through cross border business but this may be constrained by competing export destinations.
Uganda, which on average produces surpluses, has from 2011 been exporting up to 60 per cent of its maize to South Sudan, owing to high demand and good prices there while Tanzania has found a ready market in nearby Malawi which is facing an acute shortage.
"Over time, we have been relying on Uganda for a steady supply of maize, but owing to good market that they have established in South Sudan, the bulk of their harvest is exported there," said Kenya Millers Association chairman Diamond Lalji.
The situation could be worsened by the ban on exports from Zambia which was instrumental in supplying Kenya with white maize in 2011 following a severe shortage.
Malawi and Zambia are the two key southern Africa nations from where millers and traders normally import maize.
In Zambia, maize production in 2013 had been forecast at 2.6 million tonnes, 11 per cent lower than the previous year, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). By the end of last, year, Malawi needed more than $30 million to cover its shortfall in production and to feed more than 1.63 million people, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
Early in March, this year Koskei announced that there would be a deficit for two months - June and July-which is expected to be filled through imports.
Uganda will not be in a position to alleviate the shortage during the two months because its harvesting season begins a month later in August.
East Africa Grain Council chief executive officer Gerald Masila said production in the region would also be hit by the maize lethal necrosis disease, necessitating imports possibly to the end of the year.
Statistics from the ministry indicate that there were 13.3 million bags of maize stock in the country with farmers holding 8.5 million bags, traders 2.1 million, with NCPB having 2.2 million bags.
In the same vein, Malawi's Grain Traders and Processors Association has faulted the government for importing maize from Tanzania and Zambia instead of asking private traders to supply it.
The country looking to Tanzania and Zambia for the purchase of 70,000 and 30,000 metric tonnes of maize, respectively, as the country faces the looming specter of hunger.
But president of Grain Traders and Processors Association, Grace Mhango, said local traders can purchase the maize and supply it to the government.
"By importing, the government will end up paying high landing costs compared to local sourcing," said Mhango.
According to Wilfred Lipita, controller of agricultural services at Malawi's Agriculture Ministry, the purchase of home-grown maize could affect grain prices.
"If we buy locally, prices might jump because some traders could take advantage of the situation by engaging in speculation," Lipita is quoted saying, noting that grain prices in Tanzania and Zambia were slightly lower than those currently found in Malawi.
Lipita confirmed that the Tanzanian government had since agreed to sell Malawi 70,000 metric tonnes of maize.
Opposition political parties in parliament demanded government to treat hunger prevalent in some parts of the country as a matter of urgency.
Nsanje South West parliamentarian Dr Joseph Chidanti Malunga confessed that a lot of people in his constituency are starving and are surviving on 'Lily' or 'Nyika' in local language as food.
Peoples Party Central Region President Uladi Mussa questioned why government is letting people suffer with hunger when actually parliament authorised the substantial resources for hunger management.
"I think government is taking Malawians for granted when dealing with the hunger issue in the country. You remember weeks ago we passed a bill in parliament authorising government to borrow $80 million money from the World Bank among which buying maize was mentioned as a priority then why are they leaving people to starve, these people must be given food immediately", said Mussa.
Malawi's chronic food shortage worsened in January when flooding killed 176 people and decimated thousands of hectares of the staple crop.
According to a May report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Malawi's maize production fell by 27.7 percent -- from 3.9 million to 2.9 million metric tonnes -- during the 2014/15 fiscal year.
Maize purchased from Tanzania and Zambia , according to Lipita, will be made available to Malawian citizens, while some will go into the country's strategic grain reserve, which currently contains only 50,000 metric tonnes of the commodity.
Source: The Guardian