Zimbabwe Has Healthy Strategic Grain Reserve Stock Levels - GMB

The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has denied reports that the country has only four months’ supply of grain left in reserve.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, 06 February, GMB chief executive officer Edson Badarai said as of 30 January 2024, the country had “healthy Strategic Grain Reserve stock levels”. Said Badarai:

The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is a statutory entity, and at the core of its mandate are: Strategic Grain Reserve management on behalf of Government, and Inputs distribution under the Presidential Inputs Programme.

GMB clarifies that following the liberalisation of the grain trading market in 2023, grain stocks are held by various constituencies, inclusive of industry/millers, households and GMB itself.

Grain stocks at the national level cannot be ascribed to GMB only, but the Strategic Grain Reserve managed by GMB caters mainly for social protection.

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In fact, GMB’s grain intake is only less than 30% of the marketed grain and this comes mainly from beneficiaries of the Presidential Inputs Programme and self-financed farmers.

The reality of the matter is that millers have been, in line with the liberalised market, acquiring their own grain from alternative sources from as early as June 2023, save for an approved request in December of 23 000 MT, which even has not been exhausted by millers to date.

The Grain Marketing Board assures the nation that it is sitting on healthy Strategic Grain Reserve stock levels, for the purposes for which the SGR is intended.

GMB urges the nation to disregard misleading information that has been circulated in some media pertaining to the Strategic Grain Reserve position.

Last week, GMB acting operations director, Clemence Guta, told parliamentarians that the current quantity of grain stocks held in the reserves was 156 681 metric tonnes (mt) of maize, 45 959mt of traditional grains and 247 578mt of wheat. Guta said:

The available maize and traditional grains at GMB are primarily targeted to benefit vulnerable households under social welfare.

As for grain stocks, we are left with approximately four months’ supply. The GMB will import to augment the available stocks targeting vulnerable households.

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a prolonged drought which has been attributed to El Nino.

The 2023/24 summer cropping season has been poor due to late and erratic rains coupled with an acute shortage of fertiliser in the country.

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