Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara has revealed plans to import wheat from Canada as the current stock is running out in the country.
The chairman said that a 12 member delegation will this week be travelling to Canada to meet government officials, wheat farmers and also the bakers.
“Following the government’s policy of ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ we are pleased to advise that we are currently working with the Canadian Embassy as you know Canada is one of the top 5 wheat producers in the world,” Musarara said.
GMAZ chairman said that before the new dispensation Zimbabwe would not directly trade with European countries, Canada and Australia.
Although the current stock is running out, GMAZ’ s chairman said that there is no need to panic as the flour supplies remain constant.
Musarara said that there are logistics in place for wheat to start reaching Beira as at 1 June later to Zimbabwe.
“We are sitting on a 90 days supply that means that the imports of wheat that are coming in will come in before we run out so there will be a smooth change of local wheat to foreign wheat,” GMAZ chairman said.
The landlocked country in Southern Africa is expected to import 150 thousand tonnes of wheat up to the next harvest in October according to the GMAZ chairman.
Zimbabwe which consumes 400 thousand tonnes per annum produced 40 thousand tonnes according to Index Mundi.
“There is no country in Africa that grows enough wheat for themselves, all countries in Africa are net importes because Africa geographically is not indowed with the best of climatic conditions to grow wheat,” Musarara said.
