Millers say nothing unusual about drop in mealie meal prices, just market forces at play

The Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has attributed the recent reduction in mealie meal prices to market dynamics, particularly the availability of new maize stocks on the market.

MAZ also urged the government to allow traders and retailers still selling mealie meal at the old, higher prices to clear their existing stock before adjusting to the new prevailing prices.

This followed reports of falling mealie meal prices in Livingstone, which prompted the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) Presidential Support System to call on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to protect consumers from potential price exploitation.

MAZ President, Andrew Chintala, told Zambia Monitor in an interview in Lusaka that prices were expected to drop further as more maize is released onto the market.

However, he emphasized that traders holding older stock should not be compelled to sell at the new lower prices.

“There is nothing unusual about the price reduction reported in Livingstone. This happens annually when new maize stocks are offloaded onto the market,” Chintala said.

He revealed that the current maize prices range between K250 and K275 per 50-kilogramme bag, prompting most millers across the country to reduce their mealie meal prices accordingly.

“Livingstone is a central distribution hub for mealie meal. So yes, prices have gone down—not just in Livingstone, but across the country. All major brands have reduced prices in response to the reduced maize prices,” he explained.

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Chintala described this development as a positive step toward stabilizing mealie meal prices.

He added that the association was awaiting the government’s release of the food balance sheet to assess whether the new prices would be sustainable.

“This is quite a positive development. We’ll be in a better position to comment further once we see the food balance sheet,” he stated.

He also noted that millers were expecting the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to announce a fair maize floor price soon in order to help sustain the current mealie meal prices on the market.

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