Lilongwe: The Grain Traders Association of Malawi (GTAM) has thrown its weight behind the decision by government to ban maize exports, saying it is timely to keep some grain reserves for next season. In an interview on Wednesday, GTAM Executive Director Grace Mhango said the ban had come at the right time when the country was running short of maize.
"We have exported quiet a lot this past year, so this ban has come at the right time. The rain pattern has been erratic and any good citizen can appreciate this ban," Mhango said.
She said official figures indicate that about 250,000 metric tonnes to 300,000 metric tonnes have been exported but there were some informal exports which were not quantified. "We were expected to export at least 600,000 metric tonnes but we have seen that the situation isn't good. We need to have maize reserves from last season," she said.
Mhango also said the grain traders have excess maize which government could buy if need be.
The maize export ban meant that all existing export permits from the Ministry of Industry and Trade were null and void. But Mhango said this had not affected GTAM members because their export permits expired in December.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry last week announced an export ban on all maize and maize related products.
President Bingu wa Mutharika also advised Malawians not to sell their maize, saying the rainfall outlook was not promising. He accused private traders of mass buying at Admarc to sell the grain outside the country.
Speaking when he opened the 2011/12 Tree Planting season in Zomba on Wednesday, Mutharika said government had sufficient stocks in case of poor harvests and he urged authorities to ferry maize to parts where it is in short supply.
He again warned private traders against purchasing maize stocks from Admarc for to resell to the disadvantage of vulnerable people such as women and children who are in desperate need of the food supplies and cannot access the maize because of profiteering by the traders.
